Trouble With Boys
by Ultrawoman
Summary: COMPLETE Sequel to ‘The Guy Next Door’. Giles and Jessica’s wedding is fast approaching and everyone seems happy for once, but as old and new faces begin to appear in Sunnydale, how long can the good times last...?
1. Prologue Schools Out For The Summer

****

A/N : Finally we have arrived at the sequel to 'The Guy Next Door'! I hope this is as popular as it's prequel was. This chapter is quite short but I should have the next part up tomorrow so please bear with me. I've had this story planned for a while now but I didn't want to start writing it until I'd finished Friends and Lovers. I'll try to update this quite often but at the same time as this I'm gonna try to write another Fantasy fic. I must be as crazy as people say...Please let me know what you think of this so far...

Title : Trouble With Boys

Author : Ultrawoman

Rating : PG-13

Pairings : B/S and others (same as TGND, but a few extra ones too...)

Feedback : Yes, please, I love reviews!

Summary : Sequel to 'The Guy Next Door'. Giles and Jessica's wedding is fast approaching and everyone seems happy for once, but as old and new faces begin to appear in Sunnydale, how long can the good times last...?

Disclaimer : All recognisable characters from BtVS and/or AtS belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, not me. Any other characters are all mine.

Chapter 1/Prologue - Schools Out For The Summer

"Thank God that's over" Xander sighed deeply as he headed out of the front of the school, right hand holding onto Willow's left.

"Yep" said Buffy from his other side, "School is officially out for the Summer"

"And not a moment too bloody soon" Spike added, wrapping an arm around his girlfriends shoulders.

"Down side is we're not going to see you guys for a while" Willow sighed, "I mean, it's great that my family have agreed Xander can come on vacation with us but I'm gonna miss you two" she told Buffy and Spike.

"And we'll miss you too Red" Spike told her with a smile, "but you'll be back before you know it for Mum and Dad's wedding"

"Oh of course" Willow gushed, "Wouldn't want to miss the big occasion" she smiled, the chance to see Spike in a suit instead of his usual black leather would be fun as he played the part of best man for his father, plus of course Buffy and Dawn were to be bridesmaids, since Giles saw them as an extension of his own family anyway.

"I can't believe Giles is getting married" Xander shook his head, "I mean, he's going to have like a honeymoon and at his age...eeww"

"Shut it Whelp" Spike snapped, "That's my parents your getting disgusted by" he frowned, although the last thing he wanted to think about was his Mum and Dad, doing what comes naturally to newlyweds. Xander just bugged him sometimes, although he'd got on better with the boy these last few months since he and Buffy, and Xander and Willow, had started dating.

The four best friends parted outside the school, Willow getting teary as she hugged Spike then Buffy, before Xander hugged Buffy too and then looked uncomfortably at Spike. The two males just nodded semi-politely at one another before taking the hand of their waiting girlfriends and walking away in opposite directions.

"So" Buffy sighed, "three weeks to the wedding of the year, huh?" she smiled.

"Yeah, it's come around fast" Spike nodded "but I'm glad, it'll be sort of nice to have an officially married set of parentals" he grinned.

"Didn't you tell me you had relatives coming over?" Buffy seemed to remember him having mentioned something about more family members arriving.

"Oh yeah, my Dad's sisters son wants to be at his favourite Uncle's wedding, apparently" he rolled his eyes and smiled as they walked along "I've never met the bloke, seeing as I've only known Dad a few months, but he's meant to be a decent enough guy"

"What do you know about him?" Buffy asked keen to know everything as always.

"Well, aunt Sarah, as I'm s'posed to call her" Spike rolled his eyes again "she married an Irish bloke, Patrick Doyle, and they had a kid called...Allen Francis" he explained, trying to remember all the details Giles had told him "but he hates his name so he's just called Doyle"

"Irish, huh?" Buffy said thoughtfully "That should be interesting"

"Why's that, pet?" Spike asked with a frown, a slight twinge of panic in his chest as he thought perhaps Buffy might prefer this Irish bloke to him. His hand tightened around hers, Buffy felt it and knew why, at the same time wondering how someone as seemingly tough as Spike could be so insecure.

"Cordy's coming to stay for the summer vacation, remember?" she said as if the answer to his question were so obvious. When he still looked blank, she elaborated "Put her near a guy with an accent and she's smitten"

Spike grinned, remembering that Cordelia had been a little over-friendly around him when he'd first met her. It'd be nice to see the girl again and Buffy thought of her as a second sister, the two were so close.

"How old is he?" Buffy asked, still thinking of Doyle and Spike came back from his thoughts to answer her.

"Er, eighteen, I think, maybe nineteen now...I've had to learn about so many people in my family that I didn't even know I had, it's hard to keep track" he complained, "anyway, he's coming, and my Mum's parents and her brother, my Uncle Johnny, I think you'll really like him" he smiled, glad his girlfriend was so interested in his family.

"Are they all staying at your house?" Buffy frowned a little.

"I dunno, pet" her boyfriend shrugged as they neared but their front doors now "Probably, yeah"

"And with Cordy at my house it's going to get awfully noisy in Revello Drive" she almost laughed as she pictured the over crowding.

"Well, at least the Summer won't be boring" Spike laughed.

__

To Be Continued...


	2. It's All Relative

****

A/N : I promised to have this done by today and I have kept that promise. I wanna thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter, despite the fact it was very small - SpIkEs AnGeL, faith95, elven_princess88, Spoiler Babe, Lady Maria, SweetBitter, tinkerbell42 - glad you like it, and hope you continue to do so. This chapter is a whole lot longer, and I'm already really enjoying writing this fic, I have big plans and I hope they turn out as good on the paper/screen as they seem in my head! Please, keep on reviewing! 

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 2 - It's All Relative

"Spike!" Giles voice bellowed from the bottom of the stairs, causing the boy to turn over in his bed, shoving his pillow over his head to block out the noise.

"William!" his mother called to him this time, "I want you down here and looking decent in the next twenty minutes" she warned, "or I'm taking 'the photograph' next door"

"Oh bloody hell" he cursed realising he would have to get up. His mothers threats were not to be taken lightly and he really didn't want Buffy to see the dreaded photo that shall not be mentioned...

"I heard that, William!" Jessica called at the sound of her son's colourful language, "Now hurry up, we have to go fetch Doyle from the station"

"Okay, okay" Spike called, "I'm coming...don't get your knickers twisted" he mumbled the last part under his breath as he rolled out of bed, pulled on his black jeans, grabbed a T-shirt (also black) and headed for the bathroom. Despite the fact that Spike's friends and family tried to convince him to wear colours, he'd got used to the black and just liked to wear it now. It was no longer a statement of sadness or anger at the world...he just liked the colour, or lack thereof as the case maybe. The same was true about his hair, he thought to himself as he grabbed the gel from the cabinet and carefully spiked his bleach blond locks. He just liked it that way and he'd kind of got used to it, so he kept it that way with no plans to change anytime soon.

"Ten minutes Spike" Giles called and the boy sighed deeply, finishing off his hair before heading down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Where's the fire, Dad?" he asked as Giles scooted past him, quickly followed by Jessica.

"Some of us would like to make a good impression on the members of this family we've yet to meet" his mother told him, straightening sofa cushions whilst Giles re-arranged the magazines on the coffee table.

Spike shook his head not understanding the big deal. His grandparents wouldn't care if the magazines were in a pile or fanned out, or if the cushions were plumped or flat. They were easy going folks, his Nana Caroline and Grandad Charlie, wouldn't give a stuff if they lived in a pig sty or a castle so long as they were happy. Then there was Uncle Johnny, Spike's favourite bloke in the world, with the possible exception of his new-found father these days. Another guy who wouldn't notice if you cleaned for three days straight or didn't bother for a month.

But they were arriving tomorrow and Doyle, who was arriving today, was a bit of a mystery. If he was anything like his Uncle Giles, well, as much as Spike loved and respected his Dad he could be a bit of a poncy bugger, if Doyle was anything like that, heaven help the Slayer's boyfriend's reputation after being seen with him in public!

"Er, you two do know that clocks running behind time don't you?" Spike frowned glancing between his watch and the clock on the mantle, "it's almost ten thirty"

Both Giles and Jessica turned to their son with shocked expressions before the female grabbed her fiancés wrist and read the time from the watch there. There were a few mumbled curse words as Giles grabbed his keys and Jessica all but pushed Spike out of the front door towards the car.

"Don't worry about me" the boy complained as he climbed in the back seat, "I don't need to eat breakfast or anything"

"You can have something when we get back" his mother told him, before snapping on her seatbelt and turning too Giles as he started the car, "Step on it"

Seated on his suitcase, just beyond the Sunnydale train station, Allen Francis Doyle was beginning to wonder if his Uncle Giles had forgotten he was coming. The young man didn't mind so much, he was fairly comfortable where he was, the weather was a lot more decent in California than at home in Ireland and the view included enough attractive women to occupy his time, but he didn't like the idea of being stranded there forever, alone and without any decent booze...oh God he couldn't even legally drink over here...it was getting worse before it had even begun...

"Doyle!" he turned as he heard a car approach and an English voice call his name. He grinned as he got to his feet and a man and woman jumped from the car that stopped just feet in front of him.

"Uncle Giles" he greeted, coming toward the man and shaking his hand, before deciding just to hug him anyway.

"I'm so sorry we're late, we, er...got held up" the Englishman apologised.

"You're late?" Doyle frowned a little, "I hardly noticed" he lied.

"Well, this is Jessica, my..my wife to be, I suppose" Giles smiled as did the two people who were being introduced. He took her hand and kissed her cheek too, saying how pleased he was to meet the woman who would make an honest man out of his favourite Uncle. It was then that Spike approached, and despite the fact that Doyle had almost two years on his 'cousin', the bleach blond boy had almost six inches extra in height and looked pretty daunting, all moody and in black clothes, with spiked hair and a dangerous look in his eyes, or so the young Irishman thought.

"Er, Spike, this is Doyle" Giles stammered, "Doyle this is my son, Spike"

"Right" the Irishman nodded, "William known as Spike"

"Allen Francis, known as Doyle" the younger man answered in kind, neither of them offering to shake hands or even go within a few feet of each other. They were both very wary the other, especially since Giles was new-found father to one and almost second father to the other.

"Right then" Giles broke what was soon to be a very uncomfortable silence, "Shall we go" It was a statement more than a question as he put Doyle's suitcase into the trunk of the car before opening the passenger door for Jessica and then climbing into the vehicle himself.

The two young men were not so happy to find they must occupy the back seat together and both made a point of watching the scenery outside the windows go past, instead of having to look at and speak to one another.

As the 'family' arrived back in Revello Drive, Doyle spotted someone from the window that he was much more eager to meet, and it seemed she might be just as keen to meet him, since she was standing on the doorstep of the house next door, smiling particularly when she saw the car pull up.

The young man was out of the car in seconds, but he was a little disappointed when he realised the blonde's smile was not for him, but for Spike. 

The bleach blond made no offer to help Giles to carry Doyle's luggage or anything as he saw Buffy outside her front door. He saw the look on Doyles face and instantly knew he found her attractive, and he didn't like it at all. Like a predatory animal marking his territory he strode over to Buffy and without a word began to kiss her senseless.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that they like each other" Doyle said with some sarcasm as Jessica got out of the car and stood beside him.

"Yes" she laughed slightly, "the girl being slowly suffocated is Buffy" she explained with a smile, "she's Spike's girlfriend"

"That's...nice" Doyle frowned a little, it seemed a shame a beautiful girl like that was dating someone like Spike, but there had to be other decent girls in SunnyD, he told himself as he tore his eyes away from the couple and headed inside with his Uncle and soon to be Aunt.

"Well, that was a nice greeting" Buffy sighed when Spike finally allowed her to breathe, she swore she didn't know how he could carry on so long without stopping for oxygen, she was sure if she weren't the Slayer with the power to go without air for longer than most girls, his kisses would have been the death of her by now.

"You want another one?" he smirked, "Cos it can be arranged"

"Spike" she giggled, "I actually came out here to meet your cousin"

Buffy instantly regretted saying that as she felt her boyfriends arms tense up around her. He had no reason to be insecure or jealous or anything, but he always was.

"I mean, obviously I'd rather stand here kissing you all day" she back pedalled "But I was trying to be polite"

Spike seemed to understand now, and he relaxed his grip on her again.

"I'll do a compromise for you" he smiled, mischievously, "We'll only snog for half the day and then we'll go be polite"

"Idiot" Buffy swatted his arm and giggled until she was silenced by his lips on hers again. They were so caught up in what they were doing they didn't here the front door open and close, in fact they didn't hear the third person clear their throat the first two or three times either.

"I was trying to subtly get your attention but hello!" Dawn practically yelled the last word so she could get some attention out of her sister and her friend, "when you two have quite finished sucking face I kind of wanted to meet the new guy!"

Buffy and Spike broke apart, he smirking at Dawn's remarks, her scowling at her brat kid sisters interruption.

"Come on then, Bit" Spike took one arm from Buffy and put it around Dawn's shoulders as he led his two favourite girls down the porch steps and around to his house, "Time for you to meet the git I s'pose"

"Is he that bad?" Buffy asked, from the glance she'd gotten he certainly looked nice enough, but then she wasn't so good at judging people, her first impressions about Spike had been completely wrong.

Her boyfriend didn't answer her question as he took his arms from the sisters shoulders and led them into his house. Giles, Jessica and Doyle were in the living room when they came in.

"Buffy, Dawn" Giles greeted, "I take it you've come to meet our guest"

"Hey" Dawn grinned bounding up to the young man beside Giles, "you must be Doyle, I'm Dawn and that's Buffy, we live next door. You're Irish right? That's cool, I've never even been out side of California! But I'd love to see Ireland and England too of course" the girl rambled not giving Doyle a chance to answer at all, so he just smiled at her and her enthusiasm, before turning to her sister.

"You're Buffy?" he checked with the blonde and she nodded.

"Yes, Buffy Summers, pleased to meet you" she offered a hand for him to shake and while he did take it, he kissed it instead of shaking.

"Pleasure to know you Miss Summers" he smiled and Buffy decided that he really was kind of attractive, not as attractive as Spike though, obviously, but then no-one ever could be, a tingle did run up her spine however when he'd taken her hand and raised it to his lips like that.

"Yeah, so, Buffy's my girlfriend" Spike dropped in, not so casually, "We're dating, in love actually"

Buffy was highly embarrassed, but she did understand why he was doing it. Just wanted to make sure everyone understood the situation, and that wasn't a bad thing really, saved on misunderstandings later.

"Well, if these two are so much in love" Doyle sighed, turning to Dawn, "where does that leave us two, sweetheart?" he winked and the young girl turned a dozen shades of scarlet.

"I...I'll...see you later" Dawn said fast as she bolted out of the front door.

"Not again" Buffy sighed as she rolled her eyes and Doyle looked questioningly at her.

"My sister has a crush on every guy that comes within ten feet of her" the blonde shook her head, "and they never last. She had a thing for Spike when he first moved in, well, I guess we both kind of did" she smiled adoringly at her man, "but I won"

She kissed him then, leaving no doubt in his mind that she was his always, that whether Doyle liked her or not he stood no chance, of course Buffy also managed to embarrass Giles and Jessica to the point where they left the room to make a cup of tea in the kitchen.

"I'm going to get this case upstairs" Doyle mumbled, mostly to himself, when Buffy and Spike still hadn't come up for air after a couple of minutes. He squeezed past the couple and dragged his luggage up to the spare room, beginning to wonder whether he'd made the right decision coming to Sunnydale or not.

"Be honest, pet" Spike said to Buffy, when his cousin was finally out of ear shot and their lips had parted from one anothers, "that was just to make me feel better about him liking the look of you, wasn't it?"

"Maybe" Buffy conceded, "But I just wanted you to know how much I love you"

"I do know, luv" he smiled, holding onto her, "just don't understand it is all, how someone as amazing as you can love a useless waste of space like me"

"I don't want to hear that from you" Buffy snapped, a little anger evident in her tone, "You are the greatest guy I have ever met, and I don't want anyone but you, and I never will" she assured him. He smiled at that and she knew he understood by the way he looked at her then, by the way he kissed her once more, softly and tenderly, also telling her without words that he loved her above and beyond all else too.

"So, when are the rest of your house guests arriving?" she asked after a while.

"Tomorrow, I reckon" Spike told her, "though where we're gonna put everyone I have no idea" he shrugged.

"Well, Cordy arrives from LA tomorrow too" Buffy told him, "so with all these other people around, we might not see much of each other" she frowned slightly at the thought until Spike kissed her yet again.

"Then we'd better make the most of today" he told her between kisses, and she didn't mind that idea at all.

__

To Be Continued...


	3. My Best Friend

****

A/N : Hey, thanx for all the awesome reviews! You guys make me so happy! I was sitting at my desk yesterday smiling like an idiot at all the kind words! So I want to say thanx to all these people and answer some stuff from the reviews; SpIkEs AnGeL - Doyle the vampire? That would be weird! lol, faith95 - yes, Doyle is a cutie, fictionfreak2 - glad I made you laugh, SouthernRain - I hope it's interesting!, mar - don't worry, Angel isn't here (yet), Imzadi - didn't occur to me to bring in Lindsay..., tinkerbell42 - yeah, I decided I needed a change too and Cordy instead of Willow will be fun to right for a while, SweetBitter - more is here!, Spoiler Babe - updating now! Okay, here's chapter 3...keep on reviewing please...

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 3 - My Best Friend

"Cordy!" Buffy yelled as her friend emerged from a cab outside the house in Revello drive.

"Hey Buffy!" the brunette grinned as the girls embraced each other. Spike was soon beside them, smiling at both, truly pleased to see Buffy's best mate back in SunnyD. It made his girlfriend so happy to have her friend back for the summer and he had to admit he liked the girl too.

"Nice to see you again Cordelia" he said as she was released from Buffy's grip.

"You too Spike..." she nodded before deciding she might as well hug him too, "oh come here" she smiled, grabbing him much to his surprise and squeeezing him tight. He decided he should probably hug her back and did so breifly before moving away and shoving his arm around Buffy's shoulders, incase she didn't approve of the hugging. Of course, she didn't really care and just grinned at his attempt to keep her happy.

"You're in a very good mood" she noticed that there was a huge grin on Cordelia's face that was even brighter than her usual smile.

"Well, life is good" Miss Chase told her friends as they walked toward the house, Spike releasing Buffy to instead carry their friends suitcases and bags for her, all five of them! "School's out, I'm back in Sunnydale with you guys" the brunette listed "I have this incredible dress for your parents wedding" she smiled to Spike "and I can finally get away from Jason" she sighed a happy sigh.

"Who's Jason?" asked a confused Spike, as he carried/dragged god knows how many tonnes of clothing toward 1630 Revello Drive.

"I told you!" Buffy huffed, in a way Spike noticed that curiously she only did when Cordelia was around "The guy that likes Cordy and follows her around like a little lost puppy"

The bleach blond nodded, meaning he did remember now but was having trouble breathing enough to verbally answer, he had no idea womens clothes and makeup could weigh so much.

"He is such a complete idiot" Cordelia explained about Jason "it's like 'hello, what part of no do you not understand?'"

"Well, for the next few weeks you're free from all that" Buffy grinned as the three finally made it to the front door and went inside.

"Yes, and I've been looking forward to this for so long!"

Inside the house, Cordelia said hello to Joyce and Dawn and thanked Mrs Summers yet again for allowing her to stay. She really was so grateful to come back to Sunnydale and spend time with Buffy. LA was cool, what with all the shoe shops for one thing, and the fact she was in the right place to launch the acting career she's always dreamt of, but Sunnydale, Hellmouth Central, was still home.

Buffy and Cordelia talked about anything and everything and for the most part Spike had to admit he was bored. Makeup, clothes, and other blokes they lusted over really weren't his favourite topics of conversation, as they really wouldn't be for most men.

"As fun as it is listening to you two girls gossip all day" he said with a smile as he rose from his spot on the sofa to the left of Buffy, Cordelia to her right "I have house guests I'm suppose to 'prepare' for" he said, air quotes all present and correct.

"Oh yeah, Buffy mentioned you had family coming over for the wedding" said Cordy "but aren't they a little early, the wedding isn't for three weeks?" she asked with a frown.

"It's just my grandparents and my uncle Johnny" Spike shrugged "they want to spend some time with us anyway, get to know Dad again and all that" he paused before adding "don't know why that git Doyle had to come so early though" in a grumbling tone.

"Spike, what is your problem with Doyle?" Buffy tried not to laugh at his childish attitude about his cousin.

"Who's Doyle?" Cordelia was keen to know and, right on queue, the Irishman appeared in the living room doorway.

"Did I hear my name?" he asked, casually leaning on the doorframe "Sorry to barge in but the door was open and Uncle Giles wants you home Spike" he told his cousin who looked highly annoyed to see him there.

"Bleedin' hell, I was just coming" he cursed, and Buffy gave him a light shove as she stood up with her best fried at her side.

"Doyle, this is my best friend Cordelia Chase" she introduced "Cordy this is Spike's cousin Doyle"

"Hey" was all the girl said as she studied the man before her and he did the same to her.

"Very pleased to meet you Cordelia" he said smoothly "I'm starting to think Sunnydale must have a magnetic pull on beautiful women"

That comment made both the girls blush and Spike was hating every minute of this.

"Come on you ponce" he snapped, striding toward the front door "if Dad wants us home, lets go"

"Is he always like this?" Doyle asked as he leaned toward Buffy, Spike already out of the front door by now.

"More or less" Buffy shrugged and smiled slightly, trying not to laugh at Doyle's expression of exasperation.

He shook his head as he turned to lave, then promptly turned back "It was nice to meet you Cordelia, hope we get to see more of each other soon"

"Yeah, great" she nodded, and Buffy thought how unconvincing she was, it seemed Doyle didn't notice as he grinned and left in a hurry.

As the door slammed behind the two guys, Buffy and Cordy slumped back down onto the sofa and both giggled at the display they'd just witnessed.

"I think he likes you" Buffy told her friend and the brunette made a face.

"Buffy, please"

"Cordy" Buffy sighed with exasperation "you didn't see the way he looked at you? To be honest it would be a blessing if he liked you, Spike seems to think he likes me and he's got this whole jealous thing going on" she complained "As sweet as it is, it's really starting to drive me crazy now"

"No way" Cordelia waved her hand in a gesture to match her words "I don't want him to like me too much, I just got rid of Jason, I don't need a replacement..." 'even if he is kind of cute, and he has a gorgeous accent' she added in her head, glad her friend couldn't read her thoughts and completely unaware that the blonde didn't need too. Buffy knew Cordelia too well to doubt that she at least found Doyle attractive, in the physical sense and vocal-chord-wise, she couldn't wait to see what would happen over the next few weeks.

It was a couple of hours later when the girls heard noises outside the house and peered out the window to see what was going on. They were a little late as they saw everyone who had been outside disappearing into the house next door.

"I guess Spike's relatives are here" said Cordelia, "You wanna go next door and say hi?" she asked, but Buffy shook her head.

"No, I don't wanna be all pushy girl, I'll meet them later" she shrugged, "it's no big"

They settled back onto the sofa and the brunette remembered something she had yet to ask her friend about.

"Oh so how goes the slayage?" she asked, "I can't believe we haven't mentioned that yet!"

"It's fine" Buffy told her, "I patrol, I slay, sometimes the gang comes with, sometimes not...actually, it's all kind of boring lately"

Cordelia's mouth dropped wide open.

"Since when did the Slayer get bored with the slaying and how is it even possible?!" she gasped.

"I'm not bored with it" Buffy insisted, "It's just, well, there haven't been any major demons or particularly dangerous vamps or anything in a long while, just the regular easily stakable kind, and there's not a lot of secrecy anymore, cos Mom and Dawn know about the Slayer deal so, I dunno it's just not as glamorous as it used to be" she grinned and Cordy laughed.

"Yeah, glamorous" she giggled, "I still remember spending three days trying to get that green slime out of my cashmere sweater last year!"

"I did tell you not wear that when we patrolled!" Buffy argued, unable to contain her own laughter as she remembered the day when she, Cordy and the rest of the gang had been attacked by a Schworkovia demon, green slime had gotten everywhere when the monster was finally slain...by Angel.

"Hey that must have been the last time Angel fought with us" Cordelia observed.

"Yeah" Buffy answered absently nodding her head, her mind in a totally different place now. She remembered the fight and afterwards when she and her vampire love had 'gotten close' as he walked her home. It was then he'd dropped the bombshell. Told her she was just a kid, truth was she kind of was, only fifteen after all, plus she was the Slayer and he was a vampire and soul or not he was still supposed to be the enemy. She'd cried, knowing what was coming. After just a year he was going to leave her. 

He said he had good reasons. He'd only end up hurting her, he'd be too old for her even if he were human, but as the 240 year old vamp he was he was definitely too old and experienced. Plus, even if it did work out, they could never have a normal life. True happiness, which he knew would come if one day they ever consummated their relationship, would cause his soul to leave him, and return him to the killer he truly was. So he'd left her, she never knew where he went, still didn't know to this day where he was, even if he were still alive, or undead at least...

"Buffy!" Cordelia called for the fourth time, clicking he fingers in the girl face and finally bringing her out of her daze.

"Sorry, I must have zoned out" the blonde shook her head and brought herself back to the present.

"Well, I'm glad you're back I'm getting kind of hungry here"

After they'd raided the kitchen for a snack, the girls were trying to decide what to do next when there was a knock at the door. They didn't hurry to answer it since they knew either Joyce or more likely Dawn would go. It was the youngest Summers who made it there first.

"Spike!" she grinned when she saw her brother-type guy on the other side.

"Hey Little Bit" he greeted, "Big sis around?"

"She's in the kitchen with Cordy" the girl told him, "probably still discussing guys" she told him as she let him into the house, "I swear, it's like the only thing they think about" she rolled her eyes and Spike smiled at her attitude. He knew full well that when she got together with her friends they probably talked about boys too, but she liked to act like she was above these things around Spike, she was desperate to be an adult and loved the fact that he treated her like one, whilst still cleverly protecting her from anything or anyone he felt he needed to.

"And here was me thinking the only bloke Buffy was interested in was me" he said, pretending to be hurt as he followed his 'little sister' to the kitchen.

"Oh I don't think she's stupid enough to let you go" the young girl told it how she saw it and Spike grinned as they entered the kitchen.

"Thanks Bit" he ruffled her hair as he walked passed and over to his girlfriends side, "Hey there, Slayer"

"Hey you" she replied, kissing him briefly, as Dawn made a gagging sound and Cordelia smiled thinking how sweet they looked together.

As the pair pulled apart they both shot a look at the youngest Summers who proceeded to giggle and run from the room just in case she found herself under attack as she sometimes did from her sister and almost-brother.

"Did you want something in particular?" Buffy asked her boyfriend, "Or is this just to top up on kisses" she grinned before he claimed her lips again.

"Actually" he said as they pulled apart once more, "the kissing in a bonus" he explained, "I actually came to fetch you, take you next door. I want you to meet the rest of the Harts"

Buffy smiled but inside she felt a little nauseous. The thought of meeting Spike's extended family, the people who he thought the most of and who thought a great deal of him too, well, she wanted to make a good impression, who knows, if things turned out well, they could be her family someday.

"Let's go" she grinned, hopping down from her stool, "You coming Cordy?"

"No, you go" the brunette shook her head, "I'll just be in the way and I can meet the folks later"

"Okay" Buffy sighed, she'd been hoping to have one other person that she knew there when she met these people, but she'd deal. She'd fought demons and vamps for years now, these people were just Spike's family, how scary could they be?

__

To Be Continued...


	4. Meet The Family

****

A/N : It's time for Buffy to meet Spike's family, but just before she does, I wanna say thanx to everyone who reviewed chapter three - SpIkEs AnGeL, fictionfreak2, Spoiler Babe, tinkerbell42, fashiongrrl, SweetBitter. For fashiongrrl and anyone else who doesn't know, Doyle is a character from AtS, I didn't think about the fact that some BtVS viewers may not be AtS viewers too, sorry! As for the questions from SpIkEs AnGeL and fashiongrrl, you'll just have to keep on reading to find out... oh btw, I'm also posting more of Oh Brother! today and chapter 4 of One Wild Night should be up in a couple of days. :-)

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4 - Meet The Family

"Buffy, are you okay?" Spike asked his girlfriend as they headed up the steps to his front door "You're shaking" he observed with a frown.

"I guess I'm a little nervous" she half-smiled "I really want your family to like me" she told him as he put one hand on the door to open it.

"They'll love you" he assured her "exactly like I do"

Buffy frowned at that and he almost laughed as he amended his sentence.

"Well, not _exactly_ like I do because that would be weird, but you know what I mean" she giggled at that too.

"Yeah, I know" she nodded as they both turned back from each other to the front door of his home "Okay" Buffy took a deep breath "let's do this"

Spike thought it was strange how Buffy got so nervous about meeting his family, when she went out every night, slaying vampires and demons, without a hint of fear. Still, he appreciated the fact she cared so much what his relatives thought of her, and he was convinced his grandparents and uncle would love his precious Buffy.

"Buffy, this is Caroline and Charles Hart, my grandparents" he introduced as he brought her into the living room and stood her in front of the sofa where his grandparents sat "Nana, Grandad, this is Buffy Summers, my girlfriend" he told them proudly and both the old people smiled.

"Oh William, she is beautiful" Caroline gushed as she looked Buffy over and clearly approved of what she saw.

"Absolutely" Charles agreed with his wife, and Buffy blushed furiously at the complimentary attention she received.

"You come and sit right here next to me, dear" the elderly lady insisted, scooching over on the sofa and making room for her grandson's girlfriend. Spike practically glowed with pride.

"It's very nice to meet you both" the Slayer smiled as she spoke "Spike has told me all about you, he thinks a lot of you both"

"Oh, is he still using that vulgar nick-name...?" Spike's grandmother made a face as she looked up at the boy in question and Buffy wished she hadn't opened her mouth as Spike looked to his grandfather in exasperation.

"Caroline" he warned his wife not to start again on the subject of William's nickname and Buffy was glad when she changed the subject.

"Oh well, it's really none of my business but...anyway, so tell me about yourself Buffy" Caroline asked her.

"Well, what do you want to know?" the Slayer asked with a shake of her head. She really had no idea what to say or where to start.

"Oh, everything sweetheart" the old lady told her, taking her hand "If you mean so much to our William then it's all vital"

"Oh well, um..." Buffy laughed nervously and looked pleadingly at Spike who only smiled sympathetically. She was just about to make some kind of answer when there was a loud interruption.

"Hey Spike!" a voice shouted from the kitchen doorway and Buffy's eyes went wide as the owner of it came into view. A man that looked no more than twenty five stood before her now, black boots on his feet, worn out jeans and a black T-shirt covering his obviously toned body and a leather jacket over the top. His hair was mid brown with bleach blond highlights and his eyes were bright blue.

"Oh my God" she gasped without realising, this guy could so easily have been Spike's brother.

"I've barely gotten a chance to talk to you yet" the mystery man complained to Spike "So, how is my favourite nephew?"

'Nephew?' Buffy screamed in her head, 'This guy was the famous Uncle Johnny? Now she understood why Spike loved him so much, he'd obviously played a big part in the boy's life as he'd grown up.

"I'm you're only nephew you daft..." Spike began, only to be interrupted by a stern word from his mother before he made it to the derogatory term that no doubt was planned to finish his sentence. With a roll of his eyes, Spike turned to Buffy and gestured for her to get up from the sofa as he spoke to his uncle.

"Uncle Johnny, I want you to meet my girlfriend"

"Hi" Buffy waved nervously as she came to stand beside them.

"This is Buffy Summers" Spike proudly introduced her "Buffy this is..."

"Jonathan Hart" his uncle interrupted, taking the girls hand and kissing it "at your service" he grinned and Buffy couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.

"It's very nice to meet you" she said honestly.

"Well, I can quite easily say the same" came the older man's response "Spike has great taste in women, get's it from his uncle, ain't that right Spike?" he said to his nephew, messing up the boy's hair.

"Somethin' like that, yeah" said Spike, putting a hand to his head and rolling his eyes again.

"So, other than the obvious, what makes this one so special?" Johnny asked Spike without removing his eyes from a blushing Buffy.

"Everything" the younger man grinned, making Buffy's cheeks even redder til she was sure she resembled a tomato.

"Ain't it cute, young love and all" he asked the room in general and Caroline couldn't help but smile slyly when she spoke up.

"What's the matter Johnny, jealous that he's got a nice girl and you haven't?"

"Mom" Johnny sighed "you know I could have any girl I wanted, I'm just choosy is all" he shrugged.

"You're not married?" Buffy asked him with a look on her face that said 'Why the hell not?'

"No way" Johnny shook his head as if the idea of marriage disgusted him "what you think cos I'm over thirty that I should be?"

"No" Buffy denied it "I just, well..." she stumbled uncomfortably on her words, unable to voice her real reason for her disbelief. Wasn't this guy just too damn attractive to still be single???

It was several hours later when Buffy realised she should be going and excused herself from Spike's house. He walked her to her door, all twenty seven steps of the journey, needing to know her opinion of his family. It mattered a great deal that she liked them.

"Well, pet, whats the verdict?" he asked as they walked together, his arm around her shoulders.

"They're nice" she smiled as she spoke genuinely "all of them"

"They certainly seem to like you" he smiled back, glad of both the fact she liked his family and they approved of her too "but then, who wouldn't?" he grinned, leaning down to kiss her briefly.

"Your grandparents kept asking me about my life and I must have sounded so boring but I wasn't sure mentioning the Slayer thing was a good idea" Buffy admitted as they reached her front door and faced each other.

"Er, well, best to wait a while" Spike nodded "I think Mum plans on dropping the bomb about Dad soon then it's bound to come out that you're the Slayer" he considered "Is that okay?"

"Of course" Buffy agreed "I mean, they're your family and I trust you, so I trust them"

"Thanks, pet" her boyfriend smiled "I'm really glad you like them" and he truly was.

"I do..." she trailed off, thoughts playing in her mind that she didn't like at all.

"But?" Spike sensed her discomfort, however slight, and needed to know what was wrong, find out if he could help in any way.

"It's nothing" she shook her head, but he knew her better than that and gave her a look that made her explain "it's just your grandmother was talking about the future" she sighed "one day maybe us being the one's getting married...I don't know if I'm even going to have a future" she said sadly, studying her shoes.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, coming forward a step.

"Early expiration date kind of comes with the Slayer package Spike, you know that" she reminded him with a frown, glancing briefly at him before her focus returned to her feet.

"Yeah, but you've got me watching your back now Slayer" he told her, encouraging her to look at him instead of the floor "plus my dad and your other mates too. Nothing bad is going to happen to you" he promised her, his eyes boring into her eyes "and you are going to have a wonderful future, with me, if you can bear too"

She smiled at his words and the trust and love she saw in his eyes.

"Oh I think I could do that" she told him with a playful smile on her features that disappeared quickly a she turned serious again "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do" came his response, barely more than a whisper as he put his arms around her "and I love you too" he told her truthfully, before bringing his lips to hers and showing her just how much.

__

To Be Continued...


	5. Love Is In The Air

****

A/N : Hey guys! This chapter's actually longer than I planned which I'm sure you will appreciate. Thanx to those who reviewed the previosu chapter; Sunglass-At-Night (Hart-to-Hart was before my time, but it was shown in England, and it's just a coincidence about the names), SouthernRain (don't think you can have Johnny or Doyle either, keep reading and you'll see what I mean), fictionfreak2, tinkerbell42, Imzadi (sorry, but I didn't see this guy as being Lindsay), Fluffy Dragon, Spoiler Babe, Sport - you guys are the best! Hope you rnjoy this chapter...

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 5 - Love Is In The Air

A week passed and there was two houses in Revello Drive that were rarely quiet. A total of eleven people were squashed into the two homes and with Jessica and Giles' wedding now just two weeks away, there was a never-ending list of odd jobs that needed doing and no-one was ever short of someone to talk to or a topic to talk about.

Buffy spent a lot of time with Spike, maybe even more than she usually would have. She knew she loved him, she'd known for a long time and of course he'd made it plain just how much he loved her too, but that day when she'd met his family and they'd talked about the future, it had changed things. He'd told her he could see a future with her and that wasn't something Buffy had given much thought to. 

First of all she never pictured herself having a future, Slayers didn't usually make it past their early twenties and she was already seventeen, but when Spike told her everything would be okay, that it would be different for her, she believed every word so much. Of course even if she wasn't the Slayer, Buffy was in high school, she wasn't thinking about marriage and kids and the little house with the picket fence, and she half expected to be petrified by the thought of it but she really wasn't. When Spike talked about the future he envisaged them having one day it gave her a happy, warm feeling inside and only made her love him even more, if it were possible.

Unfortunately, thinking of her future, reminded Buffy of her past. She was fifteen when she'd met Angel. They'd dated and claimed to be in love with each other, but he'd left after less than a year, for her own good, and because they couldn't have a future together what with him being older and a vampire and that pesky little soul-curse problem that meant activities of a bedroom related nature were never going to happen. Buffy blushed as she thought about it, though she wasn't sure why. Thinking about how sex might have been with Angel was weird, thinking about how sex might be with Spike was dangerous for her blood pressure...

"You okay, luv?" the very man she was having the thoughts about asked her as he noticed the colour of her cheeks.

"I..I'm fine" she stammered, smiling at him and inwardly begging her face to change back to it's proper colour, as Cordelia looked over at her with an aggravated look.

"Were you listening to a word I was saying?" she asked her best friend, pulling herself up to a sitting position. The four young people had escaped the craziness of the adults and their wedding organisation and were laying out on a rug in the back yard, talking and getting a tan in the California sun. Buffy had zoned out a while ago, right in the middle of Cordelia's speech about the last shopping trip she made in LA, the same speech she'd already made twice this week...

"Sorry" Buffy mumbled half-heartedly and Doyle immediately spoke up.

"I was listening Princess, every word" he assured the brunette beside him and Spike pretended to gag as Cordy rolled her eyes.

Doyle was determined to get Cordelia Chase to pay attention to him. When his eyes landed on her that first day they'd met he knew she was beautiful, after that the more he'd talked to her and hung around with her, and Buffy and Spike, the more he realised she was not just beautiful but intelligent and possibly the most wonderful girl he'd ever met.

Cordelia, however, was not so impressed by the Irishman. He was cute, she admitted only to herself and no-one else, he had nice eyes and a gorgeous accent, she conceded within her sub-conscious, but he was a little annoying, his fashion sense was appalling and she was just determined not to like him.

Spike was one of those people who noticed things and the interaction between Cordy and Doyle was something he'd been paying attention to. It was obvious his cousin liked the girl that Buffy saw as an extra sister, and as much as she claimed to hate his attention, Spike was sure she liked him too. He inwardly laughed at much of their antics, knowing damn well that before their stay in SunnyD was over those two would be snogging each others faces off, and if they weren't he may have to bang their heads together for being so stupid!

"You think we should go back inside?" Buffy asked her friends, "We might be needed to help with stuff"

"Doubt it pet" Spike told her, "Rest of them seem to have everything covered, besides I do not want to get in my mothers way til this wedding is over, she's like a bloody time bomb, keep expecting the pressure to get so bad her head explodes" he exclaimed causing an 'eeww' from both the girls and a look of distaste from Doyle.

"Oh come on" Spike sighed, "If you wanna go inside let's go, besides the sun is getting low and I'm sort of hungry anyway"

Picking up the blanket and their sunglasses the four made their way to the Summers back porch and Buffy led them into her kitchen through the back door. The sight that met their eyes was enough to make any self-respecting teenager want to heave.

"Mom!" Buffy screamed in alarm as Spike's Uncle Johnny removed his tongue from the woman's throat.

"Bloody hell!" was Spike's addition to the conversation, almost speaking in perfect unison with his uncle who said something much worse as far as cursing went.

Joyce who was still half bent backwards over the breakfast counter, straightened up fast and rearranged her blouse and her hair as she put a few feet of distance between herself and the man she had just been trying to get as close to as possible without the removal of clothing.

Buffy's mouth hung open in disbelief, as did Spike's, Cordelia's and Doyle's. Two adults making out over a kitchen counter top was scary enough but this was Buffy's mother and Spike's uncle! It was freaky beyond words, and as embarrassing as hell for all concerned.

"Hey kids" Joyce said uncertainly, unsure what to say or do next and she wasn't the only one with that problem...

"What the...? I just...?" Buffy couldn't form a coherent sentence in her head nevermind make one come out of her mouth and Doyle realised he and Cordelia should probably be elsewhere right now, besides, any excuse to get her alone.

"Maybe we should..." he mumbled, taking hold of the brunette girl's arm and manoeuvring her into the dining room before she knew what was happening.

"Are you crazy" she hissed as she removed herself from his grasp "I wanted to see what would happen in there"

"You don't think this is a family thing that we shouldn't get involved in?" he raised an eyebrow at her and she looked a little defeated. 

"Well, I guess" she shrugged "And I guess food is out since we can't use the kitchen"

"There's a perfectly good kitchen next door" he suggested cautiously "Come on, I'll fix you something nice" he started to move across the room in the general direction of the front door. He was thrilled when he got a half a smile out of her.

"Okay, but it better be good" she warned as she followed him out of the house.

Back in the Summers' kitchen, Johnny was determined for Spike not to think badly of him. They had such a great bond, despite the fact they lived so far away for so long, he'd hate to lose the great relationship he had with his nephew.

"Hey, look this isn't what it looks like" he tried to tell the boy, but it was Buffy who replied, rather loudly.

"Really? So, what? You were checking for cavities with your tongue?" the blonde girl scoffed, waving her arms in frustration "Or maybe you just tripped and fell on top..."

"Buffy, that's enough!" Joyce snapped "Must you be so rude?"

"Me?" Buffy laughed humourlessly "I'm rude? I wasn't the one..."

"Buffy, luv" Spike stepped in, taking a hold of his girlfriend "maybe we should go sit down" he guided her towards the door to the living room and she allowed him to do so, but she had no intention of sitting down she was too wound up.

"Spike, I..." Johnny began as the young pair left the room, but Spike just lightly shook his head.

"It's okay, just give us a minute" he said quietly as he got Buffy out the door. Once in the living room she exploded again, gesturing wildly towards the kitchen with both arms.

"Did you see that? I mean, my God, what were they doing?" she raved and Spike couldn't help but smile at what he saw as a complete over-reaction.

"Nothing more than you and I have done, was it?" he asked and she shook her head wildly, as she paced the room.

"That's different, she's my mother! Why are you not appalled?" she came to a sudden stop in front of her boyfriend.

"Cos I've seen it before luv" he explained "My Uncle Johnny's had more girlfriends than you've had hot dinners"

"So he's using my Mom?" Buffy's eyes went even wider if it were possible "Oh God, it gets worse" she said as she tried to start pacing again, but Spike caught her arms and wouldn't let her move this time.

"No pet, that's not what I meant...will you calm down Slayer, it's not that big of a deal"

"Yes, it is!" she tried to tell him but he was having none of it.

"Why?" he asked her, knowing she'd have no good reason. After a moments consideration she exploded with one word.

"Because!"

Spike smirked as his reply came back, sarcasm-coated.

"Oh, award winning argument pet, I'm completely convinced"

"Shut up!" she complained, frustradely pulling her arms from his grasp and looking away, but not moving from in front of the bleach blond she loved.

"Sweetheart" Spike lifted her chin with his finger and made her look at him as he spoke more gently "look I don't want to upset you but however old our relations are they're still people with instincts and urges like anyone else"

"But it's icky" she pouted like a child and he had to try hard not to laugh at her.

"No luv, not icky" he told her with a smile, putting his arms around her waist "just something that you're gonna have to get used to is all, if these two are serious that is"

"I guess I could try" she sighed in defeat and Spike kissed her forehead.

"That's my girl" he smiled "Now, maybe you should go talk to Joyce. I don't think she ever meant to upset you"

"I guess" she shrugged, before reaching up to kiss him. She was amazed at how much easier he made everything sound. "Did I mention that you're the best boyfriend ever?" she smiled.

"Yeah" he smiled widely back "but I don't mind hearing it again"

She didn't tell him so much as she showed him, kissing him hard and long. When they finally broke apart he really didn't want her to go see her Mum, but he knew it was best to let them sort things out, there was plenty of time later for kissing and such...

"Now, run along" he told her "fix things with your Mum and if you're a very good little Slayer, I might show you a few things _I_ can do over a counter top"

"Ooh, promises" Buffy grinned, a twinkle in her eyes as she walked away toward the kitchen, and Spike winked at her, before watching her behind disappear.

A few seconds later Spike was joined in the living room by his uncle.

"You serious about her then?" was the younger mans immediate questions. He knew Johnny had a tendency to be the 'use them and lose them' type and he didn't want Joyce to get hurt, she was a decent sort.

"Yeah, y'know I think I am" the older man admitted "It's the weirdest thing" he almost laughed "I've known her for like a week and..."

"And already you reckon you're in love?" Spike finished for him, guessing he was right by the look on his uncle's face.

"I didn't say in love" he said too fast, making Spike smirk "it's just...y'know you're right, I might be in love" he conceded "...what happened to me?" he asked next with a definite frown. Spike just chuckled as he patted Johnny on the back in a manly fashion.

"Summers women charm, mate" he sympathised "no way of resisting it as far as I know"

Buffy made her peace with Joyce and told both her mother and Johnny that she was happy for them really, it had just been a shock seeing what she saw. Soon Spike and Johnny realised they should head back next door for dinner and after kissing their girls goodbye that's what they did. 

Cordelia came back to the Summers residence but declined dinner with the family as she'd already eaten with Doyle. Buffy was a little miffed that her friend refused to divulge any details and promptly disappeared upstairs, but she was more than happy to sit beside her mother as Joyce told Dawn about Johnny. Buffy did not want to miss her younger sisters reaction and she was quite disappointed when, after a small grumble about the fact she was now the only girl in the house without a guy, she seemed pleased by the idea of her Mom having a boyfriend, and that boyfriend being Spike's Uncle Johnny.

As the sun set and darkness fell, Buffy changed her clothes, picked up her weapons and met Spike on the front porch to go patrolling. It was a quiet night vampire-wise, and the couple took the opportunity to talk.

"Y'know I expected Dawn to go crazy when she found out Mom had a guy, but she was cool about it" Buffy told Spike as they walked through the cemetery, his arm over her shoulders and a cigarette in his other hand.

"The Bit's not a child y'know luv" Spike pointed out, "She's pretty grown up for her age"

"I know" Buffy conceded, "Sometimes I wish she was less grown up, as much as I complained about it, I kind of liked having to help look after her when we were younger" she sighed.

"Well, one day you can look after our kids" Spike grinned at her as he took a last drag from his cigarette and tossed the butt aside.

"You think about stuff like that a lot?" Buffy asked him with a smile as they stopped walking as she looked up into his eyes, "Future stuff, I mean"

"Sometimes" Spike admitted with a nod, "Bet you think I'm a right ponce now, right?" he rolled his eyes but she shook her head.

"No" she told him softly, "I think you're gorgeous" she smiled playfully as she kissed his cheek, "and sweet" she continued, kissing his other cheek, "and I think I'm the luckiest girl in the world just cos you're here and you love me" she finished going for his lips and they kissed passionately in the dark.

A tingle at the back of her neck told Buffy they needed to stop, a vampire was near. She pulled away from a disappointed Spike and shushed him when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Vampire" she whispered and he nodded that he understood as they looked around for the human-visaged demon that Buffy had sensed lurking nearby. 

The Slayer got the shock of her life when she turned around to be confronted by the creature she was looking for. Not an evil enemy at all, she gasped with the shock of who really stood before her.

"Angel?!"

To Be Continued...

****

A/N2 : *dodges various things being thrown by angry Spuffy shippers* Come on guys, you know Spike and Buffy will end up together, despite the fact that Angel is around, and he won't be around forever I promise...


	6. Prophetic Excuse

****

A/N : I promised to update this fic today and I kept my promise. Thanx to; tinkerbell42, Aleesha (thanks for the compliment, but no, sorry, you can't adopt me! lol), SpIkEs AnGeL (y'know I had a lot of fun with that pissed off Spike once I calmed him down ;-) Hope you keep on reading!), Mita427, Imzadi (sorry, but I don't think I'll have room for Lindsey in this fic, hope you keep on reading anyway), B/S Rox (keep reading...), SouthernRain, fashiongrrl (I completely understand what you were saying. Glad you like the story), Rachel - loved all your reviews! Hope all of you keep reading, enjoying and reviewing! More updates of all my fics should be coming soon, I've been working very hard on them this week...

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 6 - Prophetic Excuse

"Angel?!" Buffy gasped in shock as the vampire smiled.

"Buffy" he nodded a greeting, suspiciously eyeing the boy to the side of his ex-girlfriend. A certain look passed between Spike and Angel as the brunette looked back to Buffy, "Don't I get a hug?" he asked and the Slayers eyes watered as she nodded and went into his arms.

Spike, suddenly feeling like the third wheel and also very jealous, cleared his throat loudly and was glad to see Buffy pull away from the vampire. Placing a territorial arm around his girl, the bleach blond spoke in a low voice.

"So, this is the infamous Angel?"

"Oh I'm sorry" Buffy shook her head, bringing herself out of her Angel-daze, "Spike this is Angel, Angel this is Spike Hart" she introduced, as the two shook hands for the Slayers benefit, "he's Giles's son" she added suddenly and Angel looked more than a little shocked, "Long story" Buffy told her ex before he could ask.

"Well, I've got all night" Angel smiled, glad about the look of discomfort on the boy's face. Okay, so Buffy wasn't his girl anymore, but he hated this guy on sight just because he'd seen them kissing and groping moments before he made his presence known.

"We have to finish patrolling" Spike snapped, desperate to drag Buffy away from this ponce.

"Great" Angel said, not missing a beat, "I'll come along with"

"Oh, wonderful" Spike fake smiled and spoke through gritted teeth, his displeasure completely obvious, but he wouldn't cause trouble with this git in front of Buffy. Luckily the Slayer didn't notice, which Spike almost conceived as a bad thing, since it meant his girlfriend was paying no attention to him at all!

The threesome walked and Buffy explained Spike's arrival in Sunnydale to Angel, who did a fairly decent impression of someone who was riveted by the tale. Spike's arm never left Buffy's shoulders but his eyes were watching the vampire to the other side of his Slayer. He did not trust this 'man' at all. There was no reason for him to hate Angel really, he'd only met him a few moments ago, but he'd hurt Buffy and that hurt Spike, plus he'd been her first love and that meant something.

As Buffy came to the end of her story and ended by telling Angel how Cordy was back in Sunnydale for the Summer and Spike's family were staying next door too, an awkward silence would surely have fallen over the three, but a couple of Sunnydale's undead did not let it happen. 

The Slayer was almost glad of the interruption and she swiftly pulled a stake from her jacket and lunged at the first vamp. As Spike moved to go for the second, Angel stepped in front of him, shoved him back with his arm and took on the other vampire himself. The shock of the souled-vampire's arm across his chest, knocked Spike backwards onto the grass of the cemetery and he watched from the floor as Buffy flipped, somersaulted, and kicked the vampire she was fighting right in the face as Angel punched the second. The enemies bumped together, back to back, and as Buffy brought her stake through one heart, Angel flicked his wrist, his own stake shooting out like a projectile from his sleeve, dispatching the second vamp at the exact same time. Two clouds of dust sprinkled to the ground, leaving the two old lovers looking straight into each others eyes. Spike frowned at the way they looked at each other and at the fact Buffy hadn't even noticed he was on the ground. Pulling himself up he stalked over to his girl.

"You okay, luv?" he checked unnecessarily and she shook her head before looking over at him.

"I'm fine" she smiled, "Are you?"

"Just dandy, pet" he nodded and smiled, cleverly hiding his annoyance and hurt.

"Er, Angel" Buffy turned to him again, "You never told us why you were actually here?" she realised with a frown, yawning as she spoke.

"Maybe we should get home, Slayer" Spike suggested his arm snaking around he shoulders once again as he encouraged her to walk with him, "Angel can tell us why he's here in the morning...if he has a decent reason" he sneered.

"He can't tell us in the morning" Buffy whispered, "He'll fry"

"Oh yes" Spike smirked to the vampire, who had obviously heard every word, "Of course he will"

"I can tell you now" Angel told her, shooting daggers at Spike with his eyes as the three began to walk out of the cemetery towards Revello again, "It all has to do with a prophecy" he began to explain.

"Doesn't it always" Buffy sighed.

"Well, this one is weird" the vampire told her, taking a piece of paper from inside his jacket and handing it to her, "but then I guess they're always weird too" he conceded.

Buffy opened up the folded paper and read the words written there, all in Angels' impeccably tidy handwriting, the same handwriting that blessed several pages that the Slayer had hidden away at home, in the secret compartment of her weapons chest. Spike read over her shoulder, smirking to himself, even the ponce's handwriting looked...well, poncey!

" 'Not of evil, yet devil made, hybrid creature, his part to be played' " Buffy read aloud, frowning hard since she had no idea what it meant. Intrigued, Spike continued.

" 'Link to masters of our fate, twenty years from bearing date, to bring assistance to inhuman souled, he shalt be a warrior bold' ...well, that makes a whole lot of bleedin' sense" Spike scoffed with a sarcastic tone.

"Prophecies aren't often big with the sense making" Buffy reminded him, they'd had to handle a couple since Spike joined the Scooby gang, "but we need to figure this out as soon as, it could be important"

"Why's it important to us?" the bleach blond wanted to know, speaking as if Angel were not even there, "I mean, 'the inhuman souled' that's gonna be _him_" he gestured to Angel with a slight tilt of his head, "What's it got to do with us?" he looked up at the vampire, giving him a 'sod off back wherever you came from' kind of a look.

"There were co-ordinates" Angel explained, ignoring Spike's glare as best he could, "turns out whatever this prophecy is talking about should be around about on the Hellmouth, that's why I'm here"

Buffy blinked hard at the paper in her hand. She still did the Slayer thing, it was her calling after all, but other than her patrolling which she did with Spike and the other Scoobies anyway, things had calmed down on the Hellmouth considerably lately. Now Angel was back and with him he brought prophecies, possible evil and confusion in her head and heart.

She was glad when the three arrived in Revello Drive, she needed to be alone right now, she needed sleep and a chance to digest all this information.

"I'll keep this" she gestured with the paper to Angel, "I'll show it to Giles tomorrow and we'll figure out what's happening. Come by tomorrow night and we'll tell you whatever we find out"

"Thanks Buffy" Angel smiled, "I knew you were the girl to come to for help" he moved to kiss her cheek and Buffy wasn't sure whether it was her Slayer senses or something else that made her shiver when he got close. Spike almost growled as the great git dared to put his lips on her and was glad about the neutral look on her face. If she'd have look like she'd enjoyed it he'd have probably staked the ponce, Buffy's mate or not!

With a flip of his black coat, the souled-vamp was gone and Spike and Buffy were finally alone again. The Slayer yawned once more and looked over at her house.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then, pet?" Spike asked, just about managing to get her attention, she had a distinctly dreamy look in her eyes.

"Oh, yeah" Buffy turned to him and replied, as if she'd just noticed he was there, "Tomorrow" she echoed as her boyfriend moved to kiss her. Usually a goodnight kiss between the pair could go on for some time, and a passer-by could wonder at how they went so long without oxygen, but tonight Spike barely got a peck on the lips before Buffy headed into her house and up to her room to sleep.

It was a ridiculous thought, the Slayer knew, to think that sleep was going to come easily to her tonight. She loved Spike, of that she was perfectly certain, but she used to love Angel and having him back here was giving her feelings she really didn't want to have. Plus, there was the matter of the impending evil foretold in the prophecy and Buffy still had a multitude of questions for her ex. Where had he been all this time? Did he have another girlfriend now? Was he staying in Sunnydale for long? Little did she know as she climbed into bed that her questions would be answered sooner than she thought...

It had hurt, when she'd kissed him fast and practically run away. If he were the type, Spike would of cried, but he was a man and not some nancy boy. Buffy loved him, he knew it, she'd told him often enough, proved it with her looks and kisses, he just knew she wasn't that good of an actress, she had to care for him. But he saw it in her eyes tonight, there were still feelings there for her first love, for Angel.

The excuse was a propechy, that's why the vamp was back on the Hellmouth, not really to see Buffy as such, or so he said, but Spike was the suspicious type and he couldn't help wondering if this supposedly good demon had an ulterior motive. He guessed he'd find out more tomorrow, unknowing that Buffy's own questions would be answered sooner...

__

To Be Continued...


	7. Like Old Times

****

A/N : I have a nasty feeling that some for you major Spuffy fans are gonna start throwing things at me when you've read this chapter...but please remember that I am a huge Spuffy shipper too, and I always have happy endings for them, so don't panic, okay? Thanx to everyone who reviewed; aleesha, SpIkEs AnGeL (I think this chapter will make you mad at me, lol, and you were right, if I had Spike all night I would get no writing done at all!), theoneandonlygurl (sorry that you hate Angel, more Spuffy later, I promise), Buffy Fan, fashiongrrl (those words are used over here in England but not a whole lot) Dark Angel, courtney, JnR 4eva - you guys are so sweet and I love all your kind words. Here's the next chapter...please review!

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 7 - Like Old Times

A light tapping sound on the glass of her window gave Buffy a start and she sat bolt upright in bed. On the other side of the pane across the room she saw a familiar face and got a distinct feeling of deja vu as she swung her legs out of the bed and padded across to the window to open it and let a certain souled vampire into her bedroom, glad that Dawn was staying at a friends tonight. Cordelia had been sleeping on a cot in Buffy's room, but with Dawn staying at Janices's tonight, Joyce had said the brunette should take the other available bed.

There was silence as Buffy let Angel come in, closed the window behind him, and then moved to put on her dressing gown. They sat beside each other on the bed and Buffy couldn't take the lack of words anymore.

"So, where have you been?" she asked, trying to sound casual as her heart pounded in her chest, "I mean, it's been eighteen months, two weeks and five days since you left" she inwardly cursed at herself for letting slip that she remembered his time of absence so well.

"Lots of places at first" he told her, "ended up in LA though, about a year ago now...I help people there..." he trailed off, not really knowing what else to say.

Silence reigned again and Buffy realised the small talk was going to get her nowhere fast. She breathed deeply and asked the question she really wanted answering.

"Angel, what are you doing here?" she asked him, only flinching slightly as her eyes passed by the mirror and her reflection was the only one present.

"Because of the prophecy" came his answer, in a similar whisper to her own, they didn't want to wake anyone after all.

"No" the Slayer shook her head, "I didn't mean, 'what are you doing in Sunnydale?' I meant, 'what are you doing here? In my room?'"

"There were things I needed to say" he told her, looking down at his hands instead of at the girl he was talking to, "Things that were just between us"

Buffy shook her head and laughed but her heart wasn't in it.

"You mean things you didn't want to say in front of Spike" she realised, "I can't see there's anything you need to tell me that he couldn't hear"

"Does he know everything?" Angel asked, finally looking up, his expression was slightly shocked.

"Pretty much" Buffy shrugged, "He's one of the gang, knows I'm the Slayer and everything about you and me..." she paused, "Actually, no, he's more than just one of the gang, he's my boyfriend and I love him very much"

"You love him, like you loved me?" Angel's question was barely a whisper but Buffy heard it and even though she opened her mouth to answer immediately the words got stuck. Of course she loved Spike and equally as much as she'd loved Angel...so why couldn't she say it?

The vampire's eyes came back up to her face again, studied her expression as she forced her mouth closed again. Their eyes were soon locked and the scene was just too perfect, too much like it had been before. The moonlight flooded in through the window, lighting up their faces as something from the past sparked up between them.

In one swift movement, Angel moved forward and placed his lips on hers. His hand reached up to her face and his fingers moved over her cheek and into her hair as they kissed, and her eyes dropped closed. His cool touch made her shiver but it was a familiar feeling she had missed. It was only when he whispered words into his kisses that she realised what she was doing. 

"Buffy, I still love you" she heard, and despite it being barely audible it hit her like a lead weight, right in the chest. Her eyes shot open and immediately she had pulled her lips from his, she was on her feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" Buffy would have yelled but had to settle for an angry whisper as she did not want to wake her mother or Cordelia.

"I was kissing you" Angel told her, unnecessarily, as he got up from the edge of the bed and stepped toward her. She immediately stepped back one more stride. "You weren't exactly putting up a fight" the vampire pointed out to her and her eyes filled up with angry tears because she knew it was true.

"You can't still love me!" she told him in frustration and he looked at his feet before shifting his gaze back to her face.

"I can" he told her solemnly, "and you can't tell me that you don't still love me, because Buffy, that kiss..."

"That kiss" she cut him off, "was a mistake. It was nothing. It was just like a 'for old times sake' kind of a thing" she argued.

Angel sighed, "If that's what you want to believe..."

"It is" Buffy snapped, "Because that's what it was...now I think you should leave" she told her ex as she pulled open the window as quietly as she could and with a sad nod he moved to climb back out onto the roof. He looked back at her through the gap before she closed the window again.

"I'll see you tomorrow night" he told her and she merely nodded before closing the window and watching him descend to the ground and disappear into the night in that vampire way of his.

When she could no longer see him, Buffy went back to her bed, removed her dressing gown and climbed back under the covers. She would find no comfortable position to sleep in, and her eyes would not fully close tonight, she knew. The guilt would not let her, the mixed up feelings in her heart and head would not allow her to be peaceful. If Spike found out what she'd done he'd hit the roof, without question, and he'd probably stake Angel for daring to come into her room, nevermind kiss her.

It was one huge mess that Buffy only prayed she'd be able to fix tomorrow, with the help of Cordelia, whom she had never been so glad to have close by in her life.

During breakfast Buffy was almost completely silent.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Joyce checked as her daughter pushed her pancakes around he plate. Seated next to the blonde at the counter, Cordelia had almost finished up her own food.

"I'm fine" Buffy lied like a pro with a shrug of her shoulders and a fake smile.

"You are okay about me and Johnny, aren't you?" her mother pressed, the last thing she wanted to do was upset either of her daughters, she'd sooner be depressed herself.

"Yes" the blonde shook her head, putting down her fork on her plate, "honestly Mom, I'm just not hungry this morning"

Cordelia was less than convinced of her friends okay-ness and said as much as soon as the two girls were alone in Buffy's room.

"Okay, spill" the brunette demanded, as she sat on the bed. Buffy was on a stool by her vanity mirror, brushing her hair and putting on some make-up.

"Spill, what?" Buffy asked, knowing full well what her friend was talking about.

"You have been acting weird since you got up this morning" Cordelia told her, "and I'm pretty sure I heard voices in this room when you got home from patrolling last night..." she trailed off and waited for her friends response, but none came as Buffy's eyes remained on her own reflection.

"Oh my God" Cordelia gasped and Buffy spun around in some alarm, wondering why her friend suddenly sounded and looked so shocked, "It was Spike, wasn't it?" the brunette gabbled, "You had sex with Spike last night!"

"No!" Buffy immediately protested, trust Cordelia to think of something like that!

"Spike wasn't here, it was Angel" she explained in a quiet voice and her friend exploded again.

"You had sex with Angel?!"

Buffy sighed deeply and hushed her friend.

"I didn't have sex with anybody" she told an over-excited Cordelia, "Geez, one-track mind, much?"

"So, give me details" the brunette pressed as her friend came to site beside her on the edge of the bed, "Why is Angel back and why the lack of happy?"

Buffy began to explain how she and Spike had met the soulful vamp in the graveyard during patrol. She showed her the paper with the prophecy on it, before finally getting to the mixed-up feelings she was having and the part where Angel had been in the very room they sat in now.

"And then he just kissed me" she explained, "and for a minute I..." Buffy's eyes filled with tears and her voice trembled away as she remembered how she felt when Angel kissed her and afterwards how wretched she'd felt because she'd betrayed Spike.

"Buffy" Cordelia spoke softly to her friend who was almost in tears, "if all you two did was kiss and it was you that stopped it, what's the problem?" she wondered aloud.

"Spike won't understand" she shook her head and the tears from her eyes ran down her cheeks, "I don't even think I understand" she admitted.

"You still have feelings for Angel?" Cordelia guessed as Buffy looked away.

"I still care about him, he's still attractive, and on some level...I don't know what I feel for him anymore, it's been a long time and so much has changed" she spoke quietly, barely above a whisper, "I know that I do love Spike, I am totally in love with him, but..."

"But...?" the brunette prompted her teary friend to continue.

"But that's about the only thing I do know for sure right now" she cried, "I wish Angel had never come back"

Cordelia sympathised with her friend, hugging her almost-sister and telling her it would all work out, despite the fact she had no idea how. She knew Spike well enough to know he'd hit the ceiling if he ever found out what happened the night before. She also knew Angel well enough to know he didn't give up easily when he set his mind to something. Poor Buffy was stuck in the middle, with too many confused feelings and thoughts to make much sense of anything. She may be the Slayer, with the strength of ten men and all, but she was still a teenage girl with the same hormones and the same mixed emotions as any other seventeen year old female.

"What am I gonna do?" Buffy asked finally, sniffing as she sat up straight and tried to wipe her eyes dry with her hands.

"You're gonna fix up your face, paint on a smile and we're gonna go next door and talk to Giles about this prophecy" Cordelia said matter-of-factly.

"But..." Buffy began to protest - her friend was having none of it.

"No buts, Missy" she told her, "I don't allow men to turn me into a blubbering wreck and I'm not gonna let them do it to you either" she said with a forceful nod, "If Angel kissed you then you've done nothing wrong, and if your feelings are confused right now, well, there's nothing much you can do til you sort it out in your own head. So I say, most important thing right now is battling the evil, then we worry about which boyfriend you'd rather have"

Buffy almost laughed at the way Cordelia phrased it all, but she couldn't quite make it and just managed a watery smile.

"I'm glad you're here" the blonde told her best friend, "I missed you a lot"

"Missed you too" Cordelia smiled, "Now go fix that eye make-up!" she mock scolded, shoving her friend back toward the vanity mirror "Your face looks like a zebra's ass!"

__

To Be Continued...


	8. Research, Reactions, and Remorse

****

A/N : Thanx to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter - JnR 4eva, SpIkEs AnGeL (You had me worried for a minute there! Thanx for lending Spike to me, I'm amazed I got any writing done at all ;-)), fashiongrrl (Rest of the gang? Will and Xand's absence was explained...), Rachel (have faith in my love of Spuffy :-)), theoneandonlygurl (more Spuffy later, I promise) - you guys all rock! Oh, and VaderJM, you probably won't read this anyway, but I'd just like to say, if you don't like my story don't read it, it doesn't bother me either way. Tissues at the ready for the end of this chapter, you have been warned and I also apologise in advance...

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 8 - Research, Reactions, and Remorse

"Good morning, girls" Jessica greeted them with a smile as she answered the knocking at the front door only to find Buffy and Cordelia there.

"Hey, Ms Hart" Cordy smiled when her friend seemed to be making no real effort to talk, "We came to see Giles and Spike too actually" she lowered her tone to a whisper ad leant in to add, "it's kind of a Hellmouthy thing"

"Oh, I see" Jessica nodded, "Come inside"

The two girls did, with a smile, and were surprised by how quiet the house was.

"Where is everybody?" Buffy asked and Cordelia was pleased to finally hear her voice after so much silence.

"My family have gone into town" the soon to be Mrs Giles explained, "Doyle went for a walk too, Spike only rolled out of bed a few minutes ago, and Rupert is in the kitchen" she told the two girls, before telling them to sit down at the recently cleared dining room table whilst she fetched the men of the house.

Giles soon emerged from the kitchen and Jessica made her way up the stairs to find her son who appeared to have drowned in the sink or something, given the amount of time he'd spent in the bathroom.

"Jessica tells me we have a demon of some kind to contend with" Giles said as he came to sit with his Slayer and her friend.

"More like a riddle to contend with" Buffy explained, handing the paper Angel had given her Watcher. He read the passage with a frown on his face before asking the question Buffy had been dreading.

"Where did you get this?"

"From Angel" she said quietly almost at the exact same moment Spike entered the room.

"We still talking about him?" the bleach blonde complained as he came to sit on the fourth seat at the table, opposite Buffy.

"You knew about this and you didn't bother to tell me last night?" Giles snapped at his son who simply shrugged.

"You were 'entertaining the guests'" he air-quoted, "Didn't' think you want me to come storming in on your polite chat with 'oh by the way Dad, Buffy's great git of an ex is back in town and a demon's about to attack the lot of us'"

Giles rolled his eyes at his son's attitude before going back to the piece of paper he'd been reading. Spike's eyes fell on Buffy but her gaze was locked down at her lap and Cordy felt bad for both of them.

Jessica came back to the room and read the prophetic writing that Giles held in his hand. She sighed as she decided she wasn't going to be much use in this. She never was when it came to demons and the like.

"I'm going to get on with the housework" she told her soon to be husband, kissing his cheek, "I'll leave you to the hellmouth stuff"

He smiled as she left him alone with the three young people.

"Well, I think we need to get some books out and start researching what kind of demon we might be dealing with, also the latest newspapers, it may be that we can track down some articles about new arrivals in town or strange occurrences..."

He got triplicate nods from the people seated at the table as they got up and moved to fetch what they needed, Buffy making an effort not to go near Spike, him trying to get close to her and Cordelia going silently crazy because she was stuck in the middle of it all. 

Giles started to notice something was wrong when two hours passed and still he had not been completely embarrassed to the point of leaving the room by his son and the Slayer's public displays of affection that they were usually so fond of. In fact he realised they had barely spoken two words to each other and he was curious to know why. He may not have been a real father to him for long, but Spike was still his son and Buffy was practically like a daughter to him and he disliked seeing them looking so unhappy. The first opportunity he got, he took Buffy to one side, knowing she would be much more reasonable and probably more forthcoming with information than his own son.

"Buffy, I don't want you to think I'm prying, it's just you and Spike don't seem as, er, close as usual, is anything wrong?"

"No" she answered too fast and he knew as well as she did it was a lie, "well, it's nothing really, just Angel and stuff" she shrugged. There was no way she was going to admit kissing the souled vampire last night and besides that wasn't the reason Spike was being weird with her, only the reason she was nervous around him.

"Well, if there's anything you need to talk about, anything I can help with at all..." Giles told her, "I may be Spike's father but I'd also like to think, well..."

Buffy smiled and nodded, she knew precisely what he meant. He was her father too, in every way that it counted and she loved that he cared so much.

"Thankyou" she said, accompanied by her first genuine smile since she'd arrived at the house, "but I don't think even your advice could help me at the moment"

"Well, perhaps not" he conceded, "I can't say I know a great deal about teenage relationships, but I will say this" he said as he cleaned his glasses, "Communication is very important and you'll never get anywhere avoiding one another. It was through lack of communication that I lost Jessica for so many years and missed out on Spike growing up. Just try talking to him about whatever's on your mind, I know it's not easy, he can be quite stubborn and very often unwilling to listen but, it's worth a try"

"I think you know more about relationships than you think you do, Giles" Buffy told him with a smile as she walked back to the table to talk things out with Spike like she knew she must.

"Spike" she said quietly, managing to getting his attention from the book he was scanning, "I need to talk to you"

Both blondes glanced at Giles and Cordelia before silently agreeing to leave the room for their talk.

"We're just gonna take a short break" Spike told the other two before leading Buffy out through the kitchen and onto the back porch. The sun was as bright as ever it was and the sky was the kind of blue you only see in pictures and Buffy couldn't help but be reminded of a song her mother had on an old record 'the sun is out, the sky is blue, there's not a cloud to spoil the view but it's raining, raining in my heart' she thought with a frown as she sat down on the steps beside her boyfriend.

"So" Spike sighed, looking straight ahead as he spoke to the girl beside him, "Angel's back...what does that mean?"

"I don't know" Buffy replied in a quiet voice, looking down at her hands as they fidgeted near her bent knees, "I was in love with him once" she admitted and Spike felt as if she'd just delivered one of her Slayer kicks to his heart.

"And now?" he hardly dare ask, "Do you love him or me?" he had to know the answer despite the fact he dreaded it, and he stared at her until she finally looked over into his eyes.

"I'm in love with you" she assured him, "but..."

And there was the word Spike had truly been worried about, the 'but' after the declaration of love.

"...but I don't know what I feel for Angel" she admitted, tears in her eyes, "It's all mixed up in my head and I just, I wish it wasn't" she was almost crying and Spike knew she was probably hurting as much as he was, only thing was she was the only one who could take either of their pains away.

Neither knew what to say now. Buffy was sure she wouldn't be able to form words anyway, not without blubbering like a baby and ending up as much of a mess as she had been before, when she'd been crying on Cordelia's shoulder. Spike had a million thoughts in his head but didn't think any of them were appropriate to actually voice.

In the end he said the one neutral thing he could come up with.

"We should get back inside" he sighed as he stood up on the steps, "prophecy won't solve itself" he turned to re-enter the house and Buffy made him stop by calling his name.

"Spike, I don't want to hurt you" she told him, a lone tear falling down her cheek and despite the fact his back was to her, the crack in Buffy's voice was enough to make Spike wince, "I just want to be honest..."

"I know, luv" he nodded, still half way through the back door and now unsure as to whether he wanted to stay outside or go in.

"He kissed me" Buffy blurted out, "Angel, he came to see me last night and...I stopped him..but for a minute I..." it was a mixed up confession but the facts were all there and Spike felt sick when he heard those words. She hadn't said it in the right order but 'Angel kissed me last night' had escaped her lips and it was all she could say until she got some kind of response from her boyfriend.

Spike looked as if someone had hit his freeze-frame button, one hand on the door, one foot in front of the other in mid-step, half way across the threshold of the back door to his home.

Anger, sadness, rage and betrayal bubbled up inside the young man as he didn't move at all and Buffy was terrified about what his reaction might me. She wasn't scared of his temper, she knew she could handle any violent rage he could possibly have, but more than that she knew he'd never deliberately hurt her anyway, he simply loved her too much for that. What was frightening Buffy was how much she might have hurt him. It was only one kiss and something she had stopped, but being in love meant such a great deal, and especially to Spike, she knew he would feel so betrayed by her now.

Buffy physically jumped when Spike finally moved. His motion being forwards and into the house, without a word or a sound of any kind.

Standing up as fast as she could, Buffy hurried on shaky legs to follow him into the house, wiping her face with her hand as she went. The dining room was now empty, save for the books and she watched from a couple of feet away as her boyfriend scooped up the book he'd been reading before and one other, before hurrying upstairs to is bedroom. She heard the door slam shut and promptly burst into tears. She'd thought talking about it would make it better, it had only made things worse.

__

To Be Continued...

****

[Coming Soon : Oh Brother! - Chapter 8 - Remember the Day (1987)]


	9. Relatively Speaking

****

A/N : Back to this story again, on the merry-go-round of my fic updates! Thanx to; SouthernRain, fashiongrrl, theoneandonlygurl, fictionfreak2, SpIkEs AnGeL, Buffy Fan, DarkAngel. All of you are so nice to review and say complimentary things about my little fic, and don't panic the Spuffy will return soon, I promise you that. Oh, btw Rachel, Angel doesn't have a gang in LA, at least not yet anyway...and VaderJM, I understand what you're saying, but y'know, I look at it this way, Buffy was telling Spike that the night she spent in his arms meant so much in End Of Days and then by the end of the ep she's kissing Angel, and by the end of Chosen she's telling Spike she loves him, so go figure! Now, on with the story...

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9 - Relatively Speaking

Despite the fact that Doyle kind of wanted a quiet walk on his own around the town of Sunnydale, he'd managed to walk right into his future Aunt's family and they had decided he should spend the day with them, given the fact they were all to be related very soon. When the group finally arrived back in Revello Drive, close to lunch time, they found what appeared to be an empty house.

Giles had ventured upstairs to find Jessica and was currently completely distracting her from her housework in ways that are not appropriate for discussion. Spike was in the next room, completely oblivious to the giggles and noises that usually made him want to heave. He was too hurt by what had happened with Buffy and Angel to pay attention to anything else, he really wasn't even reading the book in front of him...just staining it with his tears.

Cordelia had gone back to the Summers house when the noises from upstairs had become unbearable, especially when her brain decided to picture what might be happening, can you say eew?

Buffy had run for the front door as soon as Spike had retreated to his room, and it didn't occur to anyone who left the dining room that they had left certain texts on the table that perhaps they shouldn't have...

"Hello?" Caroline Hart called as she came into the house, her husband, son, and future great-nephew, right behind her. When there was no response, the three older people walked through to the dining room as Doyle decided to go upstairs to the room he currently shared with Spike, hoping perhaps the bleach blond was out and he might get some peace and quiet for five minutes. 

Originally the Irishman was going to take the spare room but after much protesting from Spike, the young man had been convinced to let his 'cousin' sleep on a cot in his room, so Caroline and Charlie could have the spare room. Johnny happily took the sofa and no-one asked what he meant when he said 'he'd slept in worst places'.

Since Doyle had assumed Spike was out, he walked straight into the bedroom without so much as knocking. He found his cousin seated on the bed, a book in front of him and another on the floor, he appeared to simply be reading but there was something wrong, Doyle was sure of it.

"Don't you knock!" Spike snapped, looking up at the slightly older man, "Stupid wanker" he muttered under his breath, as he turned back to the book that he couldn't seem to focus on.

"Sorry" came Doyle's barely audible reply, he answered more out of reflex than anything else, he was quite shocked by what he thought he'd just seen. Tears on Spike's face? Or at least the tracks formed by previous droplets. However unlikely it was, it seemed the boy had been crying over something and Doyle was sure only one thing could crack the bad boy image that Spike fought so hard to maintain.

"Is Buffy okay?" the Irishman asked carefully as he walked around the bed and sat on the edge of the cot on the other side.

"What bloody business is it of yours?" came the angry reply, but Spike didn't raise his head from the book again, he knew why Doyle had asked, he knew he'd seen his tears and there was no way he was discussing his problems with his bloody poof of a cousin.

"I was only asking" he heard in reply to his question, and hoped rather than believed the matter would be left at that.

The room was silent for a while before Doyle dared to speak again.

"Girls, eh?" he scoffed "They can be more trouble than they're worth, can't they?"

"What would you know?" Spike said in similar fashion, head still firmly in his book, "Stupid poofter"

"Is this answering a question with a question thing some kind of test?" Doyle asked, getting quite sick of it now, "Cos all I'm trying to do is help you out" he told the young man he'd had trouble accepting as his cousin. He wasn't sure why he wanted to help but after all they were family...

"Don't want your help" Spike said grumpily, reminding Doyle of a small child who'd just been told off or something.

"Well, if you won't talk to me about your problems" the Irishman sighed, "I'll just have to bore you with mine" he reasoned as he stretched out to lean back on the cot.

No response came from Spike but a low grunt as he continued to pretend to read the book in front of him, in truth his mind was whirling in response to the news that Angel had kissed Buffy and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about her ex-love. Despite his head being busy with thoughts and his eyes pretending to scan the text, he managed to keep one ear open to Doyles ramblings and became intrigued by what he heard...

"It's Cordelia" the man nearer the window sighed as he glanced out at the sky, "She's blowing hot and cold on me" he complained, "Like before she hardly knew I existed, then yesterday, when there was all that big deal about your uncle and Buffy's mam, well, my princess and me, we came back here and got something to eat. We were talking, not about anything much but things were moving along nicely and, well, long story short there was kissing, but I called later and she wouldn't even talk to me...maybe I scared her off? I dunno..."

"The girl likes you, you dozy git!" Spike exploded before the other young man had any further chance to continue, "Any ninny can see that!"

"How the hell would you know?" Doyle asked, sitting up straight again.

With a sigh, Spike discarded his book, wiping his hand across his face as he did so and making sure his crying fit was no longer obvious.

"I just know, okay?" he said vaguely but it was clear from the look on his face that Doyle wanted a better answer than that, "It's the way she looks at you, behaves around you..." Spike tried to explain, "It's obvious from the outside, I s'pose you just don't see it when it's happening to you"

"I get what you mean" Doyle nodded as he replied, "It's like you and Buffy, I've never seen to people as in love as you are" he said honestly, before amending a little "'cept maybe your parents"

"Yeah" Spike laughed humourlessly, "Me and Buffy, loves young soddin' dream" he sighed and looked at the floor and against his better judgement Doyle felt bad for him. Something had obviously happened between Spike and Buffy to get him this upset.

"Look, Spike" he said, getting the boys attention again, "I know you don't wanna tell me whats going on and thats fine, it's really none of my business anyway, but I know that girl thinks the world of you and it's pretty obvious you love her too"

"What if love isn't enough?" Spike grumbled more to himself than to Doyle, and his Irish cousin sighed, it was going to be a long afternoon...

Downstairs...

"What is all this?" Johnny wondered aloud, picking up a book that had been left strewn across the dining room table, "Demons? The Hellmouth? The Slayer?" he read out words and phrases that he found on the page, frowning at each and every one.

"Witchcraft?" Caroline gasped to her husband as she picked up another book, Charlie only shook his head, not understanding all this anymore than his wife and son did.

"Oh, you're back" Giles said as he arrived in the door way, tucking in his shirt and breathing somewhat heavily, as Jessica stood beside him, re-arranging her hair and smiling like a idiot.

"Yes, we're back" Caroline nodded once, holding up the book in her hands, "and we're all a little confused and worried about these books"

"Oh" was Giles' only response as various old volumes were waved in his face by his future in laws. This was not exactly how he's planned to share the complexities of his life with his soon to be family members.

"I think there's a few things we need to explain..." Jessica sighed gesturing for her family to sit down, "You see, there's things you don't know about Rupert..."

"I suppose we should start from the beginning?" Giles said to his future wife before turning back to her family, "You see, to every generation there is born a Chosen One..."

__

To Be Continued...

****

[Coming Soon...Oh Brother! - Chapter 9 : Mommy and Daddy (1987)]


	10. How It Should Be

****

A/N: Thanx muchly to those who reviewed - SpIkEs AnGeL, fictionfreak2, theoneandonlygurl (twice!), SweetBitter, Me, VaderJM (you're entitled to your opinions), tinkerbell42, courtney, Buffy Fan (you are also entitled to your opinions), ladymiss, WickedWiccan1. You are all super-nice people :-) For those who don't know, the second authors note at the end of all my chapters is for the people that are reading all 3 of my fics, so that you are aware of what I am updating next, I think I was confusing some people who aren't reading all my fics. Now, here comes the next chapter...I think you're gonna like it ;-)

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 10 - How It Should Be

It was an hour or so later that Spike and Doyle decided to venture downstairs. They'd had a serious man-to-man about the women in their lives and had both decided that if anything was going to get fixed, they were going to have to fix it themselves. The plan was to go straight round to the Summers house and speak to the ladies in question. Doyle wanted to know exactly what was going on with regard to Cordelia and her seemingly on-and-off attraction to him, whilst Spike needed Buffy to understand both the fact that he didn't blame her for the kissing and also that she and him should definitely be together, Angel be damned. He obviously wouldn't phrase it exactly like that when he told her, but that was the main gist of it.

Unfortunately the two Romeos were not destined to make it to their Juliets this right now. They knew the chances of crossing the short distance from 1628 to 1630 Revello Drive were very slim as soon as they reached the bottom on the stairs. 

The view that greeted them was an elderly man pacing the living room, his wife completely passed out on the sofa and their daughter looking like she might cry despite the best efforts of her fiance to comfort her.

"What the bloody hell's happened here?" Spike wondered aloud, glancing at Doyle who just shrugged in response as they moved into the living room.

"Spike" Giles greeted his son, still trying to calm Jessica, "erm...it seems your grandparents were a little, shall we say, surprised by the revelations about Buffy and myself and so forth"

"Oh, so you told them?" Spike grimaced, "That must have been a barrel of laughs" he said sarcastically just as his grandmother started to come to.

"What revelations are these?" Doyle frowned, not understanding at all.

"Well, you see" Giles began as Spike helped his Nana Caroline to sit up on the sofa, "To every generation..."

"Oh please, spare us" his son groaned, "Let me explain" he begged, "Doyle, demons and vamps and stuff, it's all real. Buffy's this special girl called the Slayer and she kills them. Dad here is her Watcher which is fancy talk for trainer..oh, and SunnyD's sitting on the mouth to hell" he condensed the entire complex subject into just a few words and Giles was astounded at how abruptly he phrased everything. Doyle looked understandably shocked.

"Buffy is the Slayer?" he gasped and Giles frowned as he turned to his nephew.

"You know of the Slayer?" he asked, confused. The old Mr Giles had been a Watcher and Rupert had followed in his footsteps, but his sister, Doyle's mother, had always despised that choice of career and would not have anything of the sort mentioned within her hearing, and especially not in front of her beloved Allen.

"Oh, er, just a little bit" the young man mumbled, "not much"

"What is the big deal?" Johnny asked from the armchair, shaking his head, "So she fights demons or whatever, and you help her? I think it's cool" he shrugged, and Spike couldn't help but smile. It was typical of his Uncle Johnny to take it all in his stride, to almost make a joke out of it, nothing was a big deal to him, "And hey" he continued with a grin, "who'd a thought one day I'd be dating Supergirl's Mom?"

Spike would've laughed if it weren't for the facts that a) Giles shot him that warning look that said ' if you so much as snigger, no allowance for a month at least' and b) he was trying to get his Nana Caroline to sit up straight and be as calm as possible.

"I can't take all this in" the old lady mumbled, putting a hand to her head.

"I know it's surprising" Spike told her, "but it's really not so bad, Nana. We fight the big evil, and thats a good thing, you see?"

"I suppose" his grandmother nodded uncertainly and Spike as only to eager to have the subject be dropped so he and Doyle could get back the original plan they'd made...speaking of whom, where had the bloke wandered off to?

Doyle had actually wandered through to the dining room, landing with a thump on a chair as he went pale. Buffy was the Slayer, and that might prove a problem for him, though he was the only one who knew it. Seated at the table, Doyle's worried eyes fell on a piece of paper covered in very neat handwriting.

"'Not of evil, yet devil made, hybrid creature, his part to be played...'" he mumbled to himself, just as Spike appeared in the doorway.

"Hey mate, you alright?" the bleach blond frowned slightly when he saw how pale and troubled his cousin looked.

"I'm fine" Doyle lied, standing up and pocketing the piece of paper from the table when Spike wasn't looking, "What's happening now?" he asked casually as he could.

"Well, grandparents are calming down, reckon Mum'll be okay with Dad, and never occurs to Johnny to be bothered by anything anyway" he grinned, "I reckon they'll all be laughing again within the hour...so are we going to see the girls or what?"

"Er, I dunno" Doyle shook his head and Spike wondered what had made him behave so strangely all of a sudden.

"Buffy being the Slayer, it bothers you somehow, doesn't it?" he guessed, but his assumption was denied.

"No, why would it bother me?" Doyle shrugged, before walking right past Spike and heading back up the stairs the way he'd come before. His cousin watched him go with a confused expression. Almost as soon as he'd told Doyle the truth the man had paled and looked, not so much shocked as panicked by it, as if he had something to fear.

It was something Spike decided to figure out later. Right now he had to go and talk to Buffy about Angel and her feelings for both the vampire and himself. She said she loved him but she didn't know how she felt about her ex, and as much as Spike wanted to give her space and time and all that rot, more than that he wanted her to just hurry up and make a bloody decision!

Before Sunnydale, back in England, Spike had a girlfriend called Drusilla. Their 'relationship' and only lasted a few months, though they were friends both before and after that time. He thought he loved her, was convinced he was _in_ love with her, but they were too different, in too many ways. As soon as Spike met Buffy it was like a bolt of lightening hit him, telling him without a doubt that this girl was special and that he had to be with her. When they'd first kissed it was fireworks and electric currents and everything it should be when you're in love, it was still like that when he kissed her now, it was never like that with Dru.

Spike came hurtling back from the past to the present as he knocked on the front door of 1630 Revello Drive and it was opened by Joyce.

"Hello, Spike" she greeted with a smile, "Come on in"

"Thanks" he nodded and smiled as he came into the house, glad that Joyce seemed so cheery. It meant she didn't know about his 'fight' with Buffy, if you could really call it that, "Is Buffy upstairs?" he checked.

"Yes, she and Cordelia are in her room, you can go on up if you want to" she smiled warmly and Spike couldn't help but think she wouldn't be so forthcoming if she knew what had happened at his house and how Buffy had come home in tears.

Through Buffy's bedroom door, Spike could here the voices of his girlfriend and Cordelia. The words were muffled so he couldn't make them out, but it did appear that Buffy wasn't crying anymore and that was at least one thing to be thankful for. It almost broke his heart in two when he saw her tears, there was no way he'd be able to think straight if she was still sobbing.

With a deep breath he brought his fist up to tap on the wood before calling Buffy's name, telling her it was him and asking if he could come in. After a few seconds Cordelia opened the door and Spike looked at her with uncertainty. If Buffy was upset, Cordy was probably angry and he'd seen one or two of her rage-filled moments before, he really didn't fancy being on the receiving end of one.

"I'm not taking sides in this one" she told a surprised Spike, "Cos honestly, I don't see that there are sides. You love her and she loves you" she whispered so Buffy did not hear, "and as nice a guy as Angel is, I'm hoping she sees sense and sends him packing real soon" she smiled as she put a hand on Spike's arm, giving him at least a little confidence. If Cordelia thought he was better than Angel, and he knew for a fact that he was, maybe Buffy would see it too.

"Hi" he said quietly as he came into the room, and they both head Cordy's footsteps going down the stairs.

"Hi" came Buffy's own shaky reply as she looked up at him. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking over at the man in the doorway through misty eyes, more tears threatening to fall any second and Spike knew it. Unable to just stand there and watch her suffer, he crossed the room, sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"Don't cry, sweetheart" he soothed as she did just that into his shoulder, "I'm sorry I was an idiot back there, just running off without explanation. It's one of my more annoying habits" he smirked as Buffy brought her head up from his shoulder.

"It's not your fault" she sniffed, "I just wish I could make sense of everything. I love you so much but Angel..." she knew what she wanted to say but the words just weren't coming out right, and most of them got stuck between her brain and her mouth.

"I know it's confused things" Spike said with a much more understanding tone than he actually felt, "but just because he's here now, it doesn't change anything, luv" he explained, "We were happy before he came back and he'll leave again soon..."

"I know" Buffy interrupted, moving out of his arms and reaching toward her bedside table. On it was a pile of envelopes, six or seven, Spike thought he counted as Buffy picked them up and placed them down between the two of them. Immediately Spike knew what they were, from the familiar handwriting that spelled out his girlfriends name.

"From Angel" he said softly, his eyes locked onto the letters.

"Yes" Buffy whispered, "I was reading them...remembering...things were so different back then..." she trailed off and Spike looked over at her, slight confusion on his face. He didn't quite understand why he was being shown these letters, why Buffy was telling him about her reminiscing. Without a word, the girl reached her arm toward him, putting her hand inside his jacket, to the pocket where she knew he kept his lighter. Spike didn't move, just watched as she produced the item and flicked it so an orange flame shot out.

"I'm not the girl Angel loved anymore" she said, picking up the letter on top of the pile, "and he's not the man I'm in love with anymore"

Spike watched as the flame fed on the paper, curling the edges and dropping tiny pieces of glowing ash into the waste paper basket Buffy moved to put the former letter into. Clicking off the lighter, she tossed the remaining letters into the basket and let them all burn. It hadn't been what she'd planned to do, but as she'd been explaining to Cordy what had been going on, everything seemed to slot into place in her own mind. This huge revelation like the sun breaking through the clouds on a dull day. She knew now, without a doubt, that Spike was who she belonged with, always.

The man himself was a little surprised to say the least. Of course he was thrilled that Buffy had said, in a round about way, that she'd chosen him over that ponce, Angel, but he was stunned she'd made that decision so fast and so suddenly. Without even realising why, Spike began to cough as did Buffy and it occurred to the pair that the room had both windows and the door closed and was slowly filling with smoke. Whilst she moved to take the basket of smouldering paper to the bathroom to put out the flames, Spike moved toward the window to let in some fresh air. They arrived back where they'd started, sitting next to each other on the bed, after a few moments, and nervously Buffy looked over at him. Picking up his lighter she handed it back to him without a word.

"Thanks" she thought she heard him say as he moved to take the item from her. She put the lighter into his hand but didn't retract her arm straight away. Spike took the opportunity to wrap his fingers around hers. Both her gaze and his shifted from their joined hands to each others eyes, and he pulled on her hand to bring her closer to him, leaning forward himself until their lips met.

Against her better judgement, Buffy found herself comparing this kiss to that she'd shared with Angel the night before. As comfortable and nice as it had felt, it was nothing like this. Spike made her whole body tingle like a hundred electric shocks under her skin. He pulled her close as he could get her and she revelled in the feeling of being in his arms, almost as glad she had come to her senses as he was, because this was where she truly belonged and _who_ she belonged with, forever. If only everything in her life could be so certain.

__

To Be Continued...

****

[Coming Soon : Oh Brother - Chapter 10 - Truth Time (1993)]


	11. Better The Devil You Know

****

A/N : I honestly don't know how I cope with these three fics, it's a miracle that between work and fanfic that I have enough time for anything else! Oh well, I love writing, especially when it's Spuffy, so don't panic I won't stop yet! Thanx to those who reviewed; SpIkEs AnGeL, theoneandonlygurl, fictionfreak2, WickedWiccan1. Loved all your comments and I'm glad you liked chapter 10, I really enjoyed writing that one. I enjoyed writing this one too, because the prophecy is about to be solved...oh, please also read the other authors notes at the end of this chapter, thankyou :)

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11 - Better The Devil You Know

The afternoon passed swiftly. Dawn soon returned home from Janices' and made a whole bunch of comments about Spike's presence in Buffy's bedroom. The two had actually been doing no more than kissing and talking and the littlest Summers knew it was true, she just liked to tease them.

Cordelia was happy to see her friends back together, and Spike wondered if he should say anything about Doyle. He'd almost told Buffy about the situation between his cousin and her best friend, but decided against it, it wasn't his problem to solve.

When he got back to his own home, the family were, as he predicted, all happy and smiling again. However, they sat down to eat without Doyle, who apparently hadn't come out of the bedroom since Spike had seen him bolt back up there and when his cousin went to investigate, Doyle had locked the door and was claiming to be ill. It was all very suspicious to Spike, but he kept the thoughts to himself. Maybe he'd been on the Hellmouth too long and he was seeing major strangeness where there was none.

After their meal, Jessica suggested that she take her parents out to the movies, she really didn't think it was a good idea for them to be present at the Scooby meeting, especially with a vampire in attendance, albeit a souled one. Johnny said he'd planned to see Joyce and went next door, meeting Buffy and Cordelia at the front door of the Summers house.

"Hey girls" he greeted, "I'm here to see your Mom, Buffy"

"Go on in" the Slayer smiled, "she's in the kitchen with Dawn"

"Oh, your sister is in?" he said with a slight frown and Buffy had a hard time not laughing, clearly the man wanted some alone time with Joyce.

"She is, but not for long" the blonde girl explained, "she's going to a slumber party...I swear she has a more active social life than me" she complained to Cordelia who just nodded and laughed as Johnny, now smiling again, went inside the house.

"So" said Cordy as she walked with Buffy the short distance to the house next door, "what are you gonna say to Angel tonight?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't see that I have to say anything" the Slayer shrugged, "I told him last night, right after he kissed me, that it meant nothing. I'm with Spike now and I love him more than anything, I'm pretty sure I made that obvious"

"You may have to make it a little more obvious" Cordelia pointed out as they reached the front door and knocked, "Angel is..."

"Angel is, what?" the vampire asked as he stepped out of the shadows right behind Cordelia. She smiled nervously.

"Angel is..right here" she covered and he smiled at her lame attempt, "Good to see you"

"You too" he nodded to the girl, "It's been a while..." he stopped speaking as the door opened and Spike appeared, smiling at Buffy and Cordelia then frowning when he saw the vampire.

"Good evening, Spike" Angel greeted with a fake smile as Buffy and Cordelia went into the house and he made to follow, stopping just short of the threshold as a barrier prevented his entry.

"Hey, how come he can't come in?" Cordy piped up, "I invited him in ages ago when I lived here"

"Because you don't live here anymore, Cordelia" Giles pointed out as he joined them by the door, "The owner of the house must provide the invitation and since the ownership of this house has changed, Angel requires a further invitation"

"So he's stuck on the porch unless I actually ask him to come inside?" Spike smirked with delight at the idea of keeping the git out of his home, as he put his arm around Buffy. She rolled her eyes at his childish behaviour but she had to admit it might be nice to just shut Angel out and not have to deal with him right now.

"Spike" Giles snapped at his son, "Angel is here for our help, could you please try to act your age for a few moments?"

"Fine" the bleach blond sighed, "I invite you in" he said begrudgingly to Angel and the vampire passed over the threshold into the house, "Great poofter" Spike added under his breath, as the vamp passed him by, and Buffy swatted him in the chest with her hand.

The group went into the dining room and sat down. There were only four chairs and Spike loved the fact that Buffy chose to sit on his lap instead of standing or finding a fifth seat. Angel was quite clearly annoyed by this.

"Now" Giles effectively called the meeting to order, "we haven't got very far with deciphering the prophecy as yet I'm afraid" he frowned as he took off his glasses and cleaned them, "we had one or two distractions" he explained to Angel, "but what we know for certain is that no-one of importance appears to have arrived in Sunnydale over the past week or two, and no extra strange occurrences seem to have..occurred"

"Can we learn anything from the words?" Angel wondered aloud, "Do they mean anything to you?" he asked the Watcher, who shook his head.

"Not really, no. I..." he stopped as he looked for the piece of paper with the prophecy on and realised it wasn't there, "How strange...Spike?" he tried to get his son's attention but Buffy was quite determined to prove to Angel just how serious she was about her relationship with Spike and her current method involved having her tongue quite a long way down her boyfriends throat, much to Spike's pleasure and Cordelia's amusement.

"Spike! Buffy!" Giles demanded their attention and they gave it to him, somewhat grudgingly.

"Sorry, Dad" Spike mumbled, not really meaning it very much.

"Yeah, sorry Giles" Buffy added, in similar fashion.

"Okay, now, where is the prophecy?" he asked them and they looked blankly back at him, then glanced to Cordelia who said she hadn't seen it since the morning.

"Last time I saw it was when I was in here talking to Doyle" Spike frowned as he remembered his cousins strange behaviour at the time, "He was acting weird, I think you being the Slayer bothers him, luv" he told the girl seated on his knees, "Can't think why though"

"He's not half demon, is he?" Buffy giggled at the joke, but stopped abruptly when no-one else did.

"How long as he been here?" Angel asked and Buffy realised why no-one else had laughed. They all seriously thought Doyle was a demon?

"Just a few days" Giles said flatly, "but he's my nephew, and he's human, of course he is..." he said quickly, not sure whom he was trying to convince, everyone else or just himself?

"Tell me you're not serious?!" Cordelia put her hands on the table and stood up facing Angel, "He cannot be some kind of evil demon!"

"He wouldn't have to be evil, Cordelia" Buffy pointed out, looking to Angel, a clearly non-evil demon, "in fact, didn't the prophecy say he wasn't?"

Buffy looked down at Spike who shook his head and shrugged, he simply didn't know what to say. Could this guy, his supposed cousin, a bloke he was just starting to actually get along with, could he really be a partial demon?

"Buffy" Angel got her attention, "do you not feel anything when you're around him, y'know like a demon presence. It usually triggers some kind of sensor with the Slayer..."

"Well, when we first met" she remembered vaguely, "I felt something, like a tingle, but...whenever I'm in the room with him Spike is usually there too and, and I kind of expect to feel that way when, well, y'know what I mean" she blushed and tried to hide her face as Angel felt sick and Spike smirked.

"Can we please get back to the matter in hand" Giles demanded, also standing up now "Are you seriously trying to tell me my nephew, my sisters son, is part demon?!"

"It's true Uncle Rupert" said a voice from the door and five pairs of eyes turned to look upon Doyle who shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

"Bloody hell" Spike cursed, standing up and setting Buffy on her feet as he did so, Angel was soon up from his chair too, "What are you?" Spike eyed his cousin suspiciously, there was no way of knowing if he was dangerous now his real identity was revealed.

"Human" came Doyle's answer, "for the most part...but my grandparents, on my fathers side obviously" he explained, looking to Giles, "my grandfather was a Brachen demon, making my father half and half, makes me a quarter I guess" he shrugged, not knowing what else to do.

"I guess that's why you don't look like a demon" Cordelia said shakily and Spike's eyes shifted to look at her. He could see tears in her eyes and he knew she really did like him. This news had certainly knocked her for a loop.

"I can do, princess" Doyle told her, wishing he didn't have to but knowing he must, "Just like a vampire, I can pull the demon face forward, or I can push it back. I realised a few months back that I could but...well, there was more to it than that and I'd like to explain, I should have done when I first got here, but I didn't know how you'd all take it. I had no idea you dealt with this kinda thing everyday"

"Perhaps you'd like to explain now" Giles said somewhat shakily, it was all a hell of a shock to him.

Doyle nodded and came further into the room, pleased that Buffy and Spike didn't move as he passed by them, saddened by the fact that Cordelia did. She visibly flinched when he came close to her and it hurt more than he could say.

"I s'pose I should start with this" the Irishman sighed, pulling the piece of paper with the prophecy on it from his pocket and holding it up.

"You took it?" Giles realised.

His nephew nodded, "I did. When it all came out earlier about Buffy being the Slayer, I was worried, given me being part demon and all. I found this and realised it was likely about me, so I pocketed it and hid in my room like a sissy" he almost laughed at himself.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Doyle" Buffy smiled, "I wouldn't do that unless you were really evil or something"

"I'm not!" he assured her quickly.

"And I know that" the blonde nodded, "We all do" she looked to Spike who agreed with her.

"Just tell us what's going on, mate" he said to Doyle as he sat back down and Buffy resumed her position on his knee. The occupants of the table all re-took their seats as Doyle remained standing and began his explanation.

__

To Be Continued...

****

~*~*~*~*~*~

(More) Authors Notes...

- The next update will be Oh Brother - Chapter 11 - A Day In The Life (24th October 2003)

- Voting is now open at the Spuffy Awards and I have been nominated for the Best Fantasy Author Award. If you think I deserve this award, all votes would be very much appreciated :)

- My Christmas fic (Emily's Christmas Wish) is currently being written and should be posted before Christmas Day, with any luck!

- Anyone who usually reads my 'Sunday Night' poems, I did post one last Sunday (14th Dec) but I don't think anyone, well, except one person, read it. It's called 'Gifted and Cursed' and if you wanna look for it, it's probably easiest just to go to my profile page and look there.

- I'll shut up and go away now! ;)


	12. The Real Me

****

A/N : Finally got this chapter finished, it's fairly long and involved so it took a while. Before we get into it though, I want to thank everyone who reviewed; DiStUrBeD-GuRl*57, SouthernRain, lilpuff, Rachel, Michelle, SpIkEs AnGeL, theoneandonlygurl, SweetBitter. I'm so glad I have all you guys hooked, and the fun isn't over yet, not by a long shot! Oh, and thanks also to Aleesha, who reviewed - she gets her own seperate shout-out today, just for being her! Okay, that's all I have to say so here's the new chapter, and Doyle's explanation...

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 12 - The Real Me

"Just tell us what's going on, mate" Spike said to Doyle as he sat back down and Buffy resumed her position on his knee. The occupants of the table all re-took their seats as Doyle remained standing and began his explanation.

"It was just a few months back when I realised I was partly...like my Dad" he stammered uncomfortably, looking mostly at his shoes, and occasionally at those he spoke to, "He'd always known he was different, but he didn't tell my mam the truth til after they were married and I was on the way. She resented him for keeping it from her and she knew the likelihood was I'd be part Brachen too. I think, if it wasn't for the fact she was pregnant she'd have left my Dad but she couldn't handle a child and a house and all, especially in what was a foreign country to her. When I got older, I noticed they fought a lot and when I was thirteen my father sat me down for the big talk. I thought we were gonna do the old birds and bees bit, but when he told me I might have the demon in my blood...I was petrified at first, but he made me understand that the Brachen race wasn't evil, they were peaceful, even the pure ones. His father was demon, his mother was human, so no-one was sure if I'd have it in me at all. It was just a year after that Dad passed on...despite all the upset mam was pretty much devastated"

"I remember" Giles chipped in, "I came over for the funeral"

"You did" Doyle nodded, "and I was glad she had someone to lean on. We held it together for a while, fine til I realised that I had that demon element in me...up until I was seventeen I thought I'd got away with it but one night I went to this club, some blokes started with this girl who wasn't interested, I told them to leave off but then they turned on me. I got so angry, I just flipped and it was only when they ran screaming I realised what had happened..."  
"The demon face" Angel stated more than guessed, knowing that anger could bring forth his own game-face without him even thinking about it.

"Yeah, not a pretty sight...anyway I managed to force it back after a while, taught myself to bring it forth and push it back, me mam never knew thats why I spent so long in the bathroom in front of the mirror, she just thought I was your average vain teenage boy"

"You didn't tell her about it?" Buffy asked with a frown, knowing how hard it was keeping something so huge from your family, she'd done it herself, hiding her Slayer status from her mom and Dawn.

"How could I?" Doyle shook his head, "The one thing she hated about Dad was that his blood line was half 'tainted'. If I'd told her I was the same...well, eventually I had to cos it got worse" he admitted.

"Worse?" Spike asked, wide-eyed. Finding out you were part demon must be bad enough whatever could make it worse was a mystery to him.

"Couple of months back...I thought I going crazy when it happened the first time...I saw something...like a vision, pictures and noise, like a TV show but only in my head. It was a pub that I'd been to before, and a girl. I didn't know what it meant but I went to find out. The girl was sitting by the bar when I came in and I went to sit a few stools down. She seemed normal and happy, then her bloke came in, they were getting sort of friendly and then they went outside. Now I'm not the kind of man to get in the way of two people and whatever they want to do in the alley behind a building, but after seeing this girl in my head, well, I knew there had to be a reason. I followed them, they were kissing and such, he had her up against the side of the building. I was close enough to make out their faces in the dark, but only just...and his wasn't so smooth all of a sudden..."

"A vampire" Buffy knew what he meant and Doyle nodded that she was right.

"Well, I got him away from the girl, beat him up a bit, managed to stake him but the girl had already run, it was only after that I realised I'd...changed, must've scared her half to death"

"But you saved her" Giles said encouragingly, "that was very brave"

"Maybe" Doyle shrugged, "Anyway, after I went home, I completely freaked out about the whole thing and decided to come clean with my mother. It wasn't pretty. When she knew I had the demon in me it was bad enough, but she thought I had some kind of evil curse when I told her about the vision. Long and the short of it is, she threw me out. Said she didn't want something as unclean as me in her house"

"That's awful" Buffy gasped, feeling terrible for him. She didn't know what she would have done if her family hadn't understood about her being the Slayer. She clung to Spike, suddenly even more grateful than ever for him and everyone else in her life who loved her. He noticed her arms tighten and knew why as he absently rubbed her back with his hand.

"I can believe that of Sarah" Giles nodded, thinking of his sister and how anti-Watcher she was, never mind demons.

"Well, I stayed at a mates house for a few weeks but I knew I was out staying my welcome. Mam was still forwarding my mail onto me and I got your invite to the wedding. I figured I could hang around here for a while, then worry about what I'd do next after that...I never expected you to all know, Mam never told me you were Watcher to the Slayer"

"Looks as if we've all had a bit of surprise today then" Spike piped up, wondering if he would have been more shocked by Doyle's revelation, if he hadn't spent the last few months learning that his girlfriend was the Slayer, his father was a Watcher, and that Buffy's ex was a vampire!

"Well" Giles sighed, cleaning his glasses yet again, he'd already done so at least three times during Doyle's little speech, "I suppose before we get into anything else we should work out what this prophecy says about you, given that it does seem likely it's you it speaks of"

Everyone agreed to the Watchers suggestion and he took the paper from his nephew. Doyle was now looking at Cordelia. She had remained silent throughout and the Irishman/demon had been too afraid even to look at her. He liked her, a lot, and he was hoping she might like him too, but the way she'd flinched as he walked past her and now the way she couldn't even bring herself to look at him nevermind speak to him, it confirmed his fear that the demon element of him would repel her, that she'd never love him, probably wouldn't ever even like him now.

" 'Not of evil, yet devil made, hybrid creature, his part to be played' " Giles read aloud just as Buffy had done in the cemetery the night before, "That certainly sounds as if it might be you" the Watcher said with a nod.

"What about the rest?" Spike asked, unable to remember for himself what the rest of the words said.

" 'Link to masters of our fate, twenty years from bearing date, to bring assistance to inhuman souled, he shalt be a warrior bold' " his father read the second and final line, "Well, inhuman souled is quite clearly Angel" Giles reasoned, glancing at the vamp in question and then back at his nephew, "Oh I'm sorry" he suddenly shook his head, "You two haven't been properly introduced..."

"I think I know what I need to know about him" Angel half-smiled, "He's the guy I came here to see"

"He's a vampire?" Doyle frowned jerking his thumb toward Angel and looking strangely at Buffy.

"Vampire with a soul" she told him, "We used to be...well, he used to live around here and help us fight the evil" she explained badly, glancing only briefly at the 'man' in question before lowering her eyes.

"I'm guessing" Angel said as he took the piece of paper from Giles' hands, "that you're twenty years old?"

"Yeah" Doyle nodded, "Got the first vision a week after my birthday"

"So really the prophecy's gotta be about you" Spike shrugged, "Can't see you'd get a coincidence this big, not even on the Hellmouth"

Again Doyle was not completely listening as he studied Cordelia. She kept her eyes on the table for the most part and only glanced at Doyle when she was sure he wasn't looking at her. She'd come to quite like the young man this past week or so and knowing that he'd lied to her was painful...

"'Masters of our fate'" Buffy repeated the phrase, "so the visions come from the Powers That Be, right?"

"Seems that way" Angel agreed, "Presumably we're supposed to work together, me and Doyle. I mean, he sees people in danger and I help people in danger..."

"...and he's got no place to go" Spike continued for him, "Like it was all planned, ain't it?"

"It kind of was" Buffy pointed out to him, "The Powers know what they're doing"

"So what happens now?" Giles asked, "I mean, it seems the Powers expect you to go to LA with Angel" he told Doyle.

"I s'pose you can't argue with the Powers" he shrugged "and besides, I want to put my gift to good use, I don't want to see it as a curse...though I doubt any of you will look at me the same again" he said sadly, looking pointedly at Cordelia who looked as if she might cry.

"Of course we do" Buffy shook her head, "You're still you, and you're a nice guy and everything...nothing's really changed"

"Everything has changed" Cordelia said quietly, her tears finally falling down her cheeks as she ran from the room and out of the front door. Buffy stood up from Spike's lap and they both moved to go after her but Doyle had already gone.

"Cordy!" he yelled behind her, Buffy and Spike watched from the open front door as he bolted down the street behind her. 

"Should we go with them?" Buffy asked her boyfriends opinion, "It could be dangerous out there at this time of night"

"Leave them be, luv" Spike suggested, "it's not like they don't know what could be out there" he pointed out, "I think they just need time to talk"

"Cordelia, please wait!" Doyle continued to call to her as she barrelled down the road at top speed, turning suddenly and sharply into the graveyard. Amongst the headstones and the shadows they made, it was almost impossible for him to know where she'd gone. He called her name again, despite the fact he knew that would probably only make her more likely to run and hide. He'd never meant to hurt her, of all people. He really liked her, thought he was probably falling in love with her, and now it hurt so much that she seemed to hate him. He knew her pain, however, must be greater, her disgust probably even greater than that.

Suddenly there was a scream that rang out across the cemetery and Doyle knew instantly it was Cordelia in distress. Following the sounds of her screams he ran across the ground and round behind a mausoleum. A vampire, a large and very nasty looking one, had his precious girl against the wall and was moving in to bite her. Ordinarily the brunette would have put up a decent fight and she knew how to handle a stake, Buffy had taught her friend well, but she'd been distressed and confused and not paying full attention - it had almost cost her life, almost.

With a mighty roar, Doyles anger exploded and brought his Brachen face and strength to the surface. He tore the vampires arms from Cordelia and proceeded to wail on him, punch after punch, until the vamp was momentarily on the ground. It gave him the precious seconds he needed to grab a branch from a nearby tree. Before the vampire could make it back to his feet, he was dust.

Breathing heavily, Doyle began to calm down but he knew the demon face would still be there. He desperately wanted to go to Cordelia who stood huddled against the wall, crying and shaking, he wanted to hold her and tell he it was all over now, but he daren't go near her looking like this. He turned his face from her view and just listened as her sobbing subsided and she became much calmer.

Cordelia looked at the floor where the vamp had been, now where only dust remained. She glanced at Doyle's back, just a few feet away. She knew why he wouldn't look at her, he was ashamed of the face he wore right now, but she had to know if it was so bad. During the fight things had moved to fast that she'd barely noticed he'd changed, now she needed to know.

Tentatively she made the few steps needed to bring her right up behind him. Her hand reached out to his shoulder and tugged to make him turn around, but he wouldn't.

"I'm sorry, princess" he said quietly, "I never wanted to upset you"

"If you want me to accept your apology" she said just as softly, "Why don't you look at me when you say it"

The shock that she would ask made him turn anyway, without thinking, his demon face still visible for her to see. His features were still his own, but pale green, and with blue spines sticking out all over.

Cordelia forced herself not to look shocked and was surprised at the very little amount of force she had to use. She'd seen a lot of demons, all different kinds, and some of them had been extremely ugly, maybe if she'd seen a random Brachen demon she might have thought the same thing, but this wasn't a demon, it was Doyle. His eyes were the same and that's what she focused on, that and the words that still reached her ears in that same voice.

"You don't want to see me like this" he shook his head and turned away, willing his human guise to come back which it did, "You probably don't want to see me at all..."

"Hey" Cordelia interrupted, pulling him by the shoulders til he looked at her again, "I was upset" she admitted, "but not because of what you are" she assured him, "It hurt that you didn't tell me the truth, but then I guess you weren't too sure how I'd react. I haven't exactly been little miss honesty either" she admitted, "at least not when it comes to my feelings"

"Your feelings?" Doyle echoed, unsure as to what the girl meant and getting shivers from the fact that her hands were still on his arms.

"Yes" she nodded, "I wasn't sure about it before, I thought I might like you but I was afraid of what that meant...when you admitted the truth about yourself, it hurt so much that you hadn't told me before, but it also scared me that it bothered me so much. I wouldn't have cared that you kept it from me if I didn't care about you" she looked away shyly as she finished what she was saying and Doyle realised she'd been talking in the past tense. Maybe she had liked him but how could she now?

"So what happens now?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I don't know" Cordy admitted, her hands falling from his shoulders as she turned her back to him and looked up at the night sky, "I guess we carry on where we left off, see what happens"

"Where we left off?" he repeated and Cordy turned around with a sigh.

"My God, you sure you're not half parrot too?" she almost laughed, "You keep repeating everything I say!"

"Everything you say?" he frowned before his face broke out into a smile, and they both laughed. Cordy swatted his arm, before using the backs of her hands to wipe the old tears from her face.

After a moment the laughter died and Cordelia looked perfectly serious as she stepped closer to him, "Y'know I should say thankyou" she smiled, "You saved my life just now"

"And I should say sorry again" he realised, "Not for saving your life obviously" he corrected himself, "but for keeping things from you, lying, and putting you in danger in the first place..."

"Hey, enough of that" Cordelia silenced him with a finger on his lips, "You apologised and I accepted it, end of" she told him, moving her hand away from his face again as she realised what she was doing, for a moment there eyes locked together.

"When you said, we should start from where we left off" Doyle said quietly, looking deep into her eyes, "what exactly did you..." he was cut off by her lips on his, a kiss that was more spectacular than the one they'd shared yesterday in the kitchen of his Uncle's house, because this time he knew she meant it. She knew his true self and she wasn't afraid or disgusted, she still liked him and she'd actually kissed him, answering his half-asked question in the most perfect way possible.

__

To Be Continued...

****

[Next update will be on 'Oh Brother!' - look out for Chapter 12 of that story in a couple of days]


	13. Long Distance

****

A/N : Okay, so this isn't the world's most ionteresting chapter but it's necessary to get everything and everyone where I want them for the next part of the story. Thanx to those who reviewed; fashiongrrl, B/S Rox, SweetBitter, theoneandonlygurl, SpIkEs AnGeL, SouthernRain, lilpuff. Now with the prophecy all figured out, does Angel really need to be in SunnyD...?

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 13 - Long Distance

"I hope they're okay" Buffy said mostly to herself as she looked out of the window into the dark night.

"They will be, luv" Spike told her as he looked out over her shoulder, "Don't fret"

Buffy nodded that she knew he was right, but she wouldn't be happy til her friends were home safe. She barely heard the phone ring, her attention fixed almost completely on the empty street beyond the glass. The pair of arms that slid around her waist gave her some comfort, until their owner spoke.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you last night" Angel whispered and Buffy physically jumped from his grasp.

"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped, trying not to be too loud and have Spike come running.

"Buffy, come on, you can't seriously tell me you're in love with that boy" Angel jerked his thumb back toward the hall where Spike was talking on the phone, "I know you still love me"

Buffy looked at her feet and sighed before looking back up at her one time love.

"Angel, I do love you, okay? I do, but no more than I love any of my other friends" she confessed, "I love Xander and Willow and Cordelia and I love you, but I am _in_ love with Spike and I always will be"

"But seriously..." Angel began to protest - the girl would not hear a word of it.

"No Angel, let it go" she told him sternly, "I refuse to keep on having this same conversation with you" she told him, looking him directly in the eye. He looked away and glanced toward the hall, toward Spike, before looking back at Buffy. She knew what was happening inside his head, despite his soul, there was a demon inside of him too.

"If you so much as look at him wrong" Buffy told him, her tone cold as steel, "I swear to God, I'll earn my title of Slayer"

As Angel looked back at her, his face was full of shock at her words, and almost disbelief, until he caught her eyes, the totally serious and angry look in them. There was no disbelief left in him now. 

"Buffy!" Spike called to her for the second time, though she had no idea he'd tried to get her attention before. Leaving Angel standing alone in the dining room, she walked through to where Spike held the phone in his hand.

"What's up?" she asked him and he passed the phone to her.

"It's Red" he smiled, "apparently she tried to call your house but got no answer..don't even want to know why" he shuddered violently as rather nasty images of his Uncle and Buffy's mother slipped through his head. He stood beside his girlfriend as she spoke to her friend.

"Hey Wills, how are you?" she asked and Willow told her just how wonderful everything was and how great it was to have Xander with her.

"We seriously need to have a girls-only talk when I get home" she told her best friend, blushing despite the fact no-one could see her.

"Really?" Buffy giggled, trying to ignore the look Spike gave her, he could only imagine what those two were gossiping about. He walked into the next room to find Angel still there.

"So, I s'pose you can sod off now we've solved your prophecy for you" the bleached blond sneered at the vampire, just as Giles came through from the kitchen with a tray of cups and coffee.

"Spike, must you be so rude!" he snapped.

"He's right, I guess" Angel sighed, "I mean, it's obviously planned for Doyle to come work with me in LA but that'll wait until after your wedding" he shrugged "I have no other reason to be here" he added, staring longingly into the hallway.

Spike couldn't help the smirk that spread across his lips then. Buffy had quite clearly given the poofter his marching orders now, he wouldn't be trying anything on with her again.

As Angel made for the front door, Giles called to him.

"You're leaving immediately?" he asked, "Don't you want to say goodbye to Buffy?"

The vampire paused with his hand on the door knob, then turned back to glance at the Slayer in the hallway. She had her back to him as she talked on the phone, winding the cord around her fingers and giggling.

"No, not this time" Angel sighed, as he opened the door. He turned back just once to glance at Spike then Giles, speaking to them in turn "Take care of her...I'll see you soon"

It was a moment later that Buffy hung up the phone and excitedly told Spike and Giles what a great time Willow and Xander were having on vacation. It seemed strange to think they'd been gone ten days and would be back in one more week, just in time for the wedding of Spike's parents.

"Buffy" Giles managed to interrupt her rambling a she stopped briefly to draw breath, "Angel has gone back to LA"

"That's good" she nodded once as she moved to stand beside Spike, "We don't need him to be here" as she smiled at her boyfriend and he grinned back, Giles looked confused.

"Did something happen that I missed?" the Watcher asked them as they kissed briefly.

"Don't know what you mean, Dad" Spike smirked as Buffy held back a giggle. What had happened was not important anymore, it would soon be forgotten. 

A key in the door alerted the three to the presence of Cordelia and Doyle. They were laughing as they came into the house, hand in hand, but Buffy was not so quick to smile when she saw them.

"Oh my God" she gasped, rushing at her friends, worried when she saw that the back of Cordy's hand was grazed and part of Doyle's jacket was ripped, "What happened to you guys?"

"Oh, vampire" Cordelia rolled her eyes like it was no big deal, "but we're fine, and there is something kind of more important to tell"

Buffy thought she knew what it was, her suspicions confirmed as she notice Cordelia's other hand was firmly grasped within Doyles.

"Whatever you had planned for tomorrow night" the Irishman told Buffy, Spike and Giles, "It better not include us two, cos I'm taking my princess here out on a date"

"Nice one, mate" Spike grinned, "Didn't I tell you..." he stopped abruptly and Buffy looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Didn't you tell him, what?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"He told me precisely what I told him" Doyle explained, not at all ashamed to admit he and his cousin had a serious man-to-man the other day, "I knew he and you were perfect for each other" he said to Buffy, "and he reckoned me and this beautiful woman here were the same way" he smiled at the girl whose hand he held and Cordelia uncharacteristically blushed.

"Well, it does seem to have been quite an eventful evening, doesn't it?" Giles commented as Buffy glanced toward the clock.

"My God, is it really so late?" she said wide eyed as she took in the time, "Mom's gonna freak if I don't get home soon"

"Pretty sure she's too busy to notice, luv" Spike smirked, and Buffy would have laughed if she wasn't too busy being disgusted at the very idea of her mother doing things like that with Spike's Uncle Johnny.

"Where's your man Angel?" Doyle asked, suddenly noticing the vamp wasn't around.

"Gone back to LA" Spike happily reported, "He said there was no point him hanging around, since you wouldn't want to join him in LA til after Mum and Dad get hitched"

"He left without saying goodbye?" Cordelia complained, "That's just rude"

"Well, it's not like you won't see him again" her 'boyfriend' told her, "I mean, it couldn't have worked out much more perfectly if we planned it, what with you living in LA and me coming to work with Angel there soon"

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that" Cordy grinned, "It'll be so great" 

Everyone turned to look as the front door opened and Jessica entered with her parents. Buffy and Cordelia decided they really should be going, making sure they kissed their men soundly before they left. Thankfully no embarrassment was caused next door, as the girls met Johnny on the front porch in the opposite way to how he had met them earlier that night.

"You girls have fun tonight?" he asked with a nervous grin.

"It was cool" Buffy nodded, "Yourself?"

"Just fine, thanks" he nodded back, as he shuffled away and Cordelia laughed.

"Whats so funny?" her blonde friend asked as they went into the house.

"His shoes were on the wrong feet" she explained, "I wonder why he took them off?" she asked as if she didn't know and both girls weren't sure whether to laugh of shudder with disgust at the very idea.

"So, are you really glad that Angel's gone?" Cordelia just had to know, and Buffy sighed as they went into the house and upstairs to her room.

"Y'know, I really am" she admitted, "It was all big with the complex when he was here, for a while at least. Now it's clear, but it's better not having him around, he'd only get broody and weird seeing me with Spike everyday...I may not be in love with Angel anymore, but I don't want to hurt him like that"

Cordelia was about to answer when Joyce came practically floating out of her room in nothing but a robe.

"Oh, hi girls" she stammered, when she saw them there, "I was just gonna, uh, take a bath"

Pushing back the grimace that wanted to be on her face so badly, Buffy smiled instead.

"Okay Mom, we're gonna head to bed"

"See you in the morning" Cordelia added as the two girl hurried into Buffy's room, not sure whether to laugh or puke at the idea of adults and their bedroom activities.

"So" Buffy said, wanting to talk about anything so long as it was not her mother and Spike's Uncle, "you and Doyle are in love, huh?" she teased her friend.

"I don't know" Cordelia blushed, "I like him a lot, I maybe love him, he's just so sweet and hot and everything of the good, y'know?"

"Maybe it runs in the family" Buffy shrugged, "I mean, he and Spike are cousins after all"

"Yeah" Cordelia nodded as they both got ready for bed, "but they're also both related to Giles..."

The girls looked at each other for a second before shuddering in unison.

"Speaking of, wedding is fast approaching now" Buffy pointed out, "and just a week to go til Xander and Willow get home"

"It'll be great to see them again" Cordelia nodded, "and they can meet Doyle"

"Yeah, I think it's all going to work out just fine" Buffy smiled as she climbed into bed, "What could possibly go wrong?"

__

To Be Continued...

****

[Next Update will be 'Oh Brother!' - Chapter 13]


	14. Arrivals and Girl Talk

****

A/N : Hey guys! Thanks for all the great reviews; Aleesha, Rachel, SpIkEs AnGeL, SouthernRain, lilpuff, theoneandonlygurl, RougeCrayon. Of course, you all knew as soon as Buffy said 'What could go wrong?' that something undoubtedly would. Well keep on reading and you just might find out what it is...and as always, please review and let me know what you think of this chapter!

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 14 - Arrivals & Girl Talk

"Hey guys!" Buffy practically squealed as she opened the front door and found her two best friends on the other side. Willow and Xander had arrived back in Sunnydale quite late the night before, but still they had gotten up the next morning, desperate to see their friends.

Hugs were shared between the arrivals and Buffy, Spike, and Cordelia. Doyle was introduced, his semi-demon status one of the first things to be explained, so that no-one got any nasty shocks later. Joyce didn't seem to mind having a living room full of noisy young people. She was in a kind of love-haze since she'd started dating Spike's Uncle Johnny, and no-one minded since she was happy enough to agree to things that maybe she wouldn't have done in a non-loved-up state. She soon vacated the house anyway, as her 'boyfriend' was taking her to lunch, the gang barely noticed her leave the house, they were so deep in conversation.

Doyle and Cordelia had had two official dates in the past week and had spent most of their time together, as Spike and Buffy did the same. There were many stories to be shared about all that had happened in the past three weeks, in Sunnydale and abroad. Naturally the conversation soon turned to the upcoming nuptials, that everyone was looking forward to attending.

"Just two days to the wedding, I can't believe it" Willow grinned, thrilled by the impending happy day "Are your parents excited Spike?" she asked the bleach blond who shared a chair with his girlfriend, opposite the sofa that held Xander and Willow and the other armchair in which Cordelia sat, with Doyle on the arm of it.

"I s'pose so" Spike shrugged "but you know what Dad's like, not huge with the showing of emotions" he winced a little as he realised he sounded very much like Buffy during that sentence, as much as he loved her, he had no wish to become her "Mum's been so busy arranging things up to now, I don't think she's really had enough time to actually look forward to the day" he continued "but I know she will when she realises how close it is"

At that point the doorbell rang, just as Buffy began to speak and so Xander, being closest, got up to answer it.

"Giles" they heard him greet from the door, "hows it going?"

They didn't hear his reply as Spike turned to his cousin.

"That means we should be making tracks Doyle" he realised, turning his head to look at a disappointed Buffy "Gotta make sure our suits fit for the wedding" he told her.

"I bet you'll look so handsome" the blonde smiled.

"I don't usually?" he asked her with mock pain, making her giggle.

"You know that you do" she smiled, as he smiled back and they moved in to kiss each other. Willow watched with amusement as Doyle said goodbye to Cordelia, promising to see her later and kissing her soundly. It was so great to have all her friends so happy, and herself too of course, she smiled wider as Xander came back into the room.

"Oh great" he complained as the front door banged shut "All the guys are gone and it looks like a slumber party in here" he sighed as the three girls giggled from their positions on the sofa and two chairs, before throwing cushions at him. The sudden burst of laughter finally alerted Dawn to the fact there were more people than usual in the house and she emerged from upstairs.

"Oh, hey guys!" she grinned as she noticed Willow and Xander. They had been Buffy's best friends since kindergarten so she'd grown up with them always being around.

"Hi Dawnie" Willow smiled at her friends sister "Hows everything?"

"Just great" the younger girl nodded "And you?"

"Can't complain" the witch smiled particularly at Xander, the reason for her happiness of late.

"I can't stay" Dawn explained to the whole room "I'm meeting Janice and Amanda - we're going bowling"

"Did you check with Mom?" Buffy snapped immediately, knowing as she did, the kind of things that happened in Sunnydale, she worried a great deal for her sisters safety.

"Yes, I asked this morning" Dawn huffed, she knew her sister worried, but she already had a mother, she didn't need Buffy to be Mom #2.

"Okay, then I'll see you later" her older sister agreed as the brunette girl made for the front door, swinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Hey Dawnster, you want an escort?" Xander offered "I really should be heading home and I think these girls need some time to talk nailpolish, shopping and boys for a while" he smirked.

"Totally true" Buffy nodded that she agreed with that statement as Willow and Cordelia did too.

"Sure Xand, thanks" Dawn agreed to let him walk her. She always liked Xander, in fact back when she was younger, she'd really _liked_ Xander, but she was so totally over him now.

"Bye guys" he nodded to Buffy and Cordy "Bye sweetie" he said to Willow, going over to her and kissing her sweetly.

"Yuck" was Dawn's immediate reaction, but on receiving four glares she apologised with a quiet "sorry"

"Come on, small fry" Xander smiled, not really annoyed by her comments at all. She was young, one day he knew she'd feel much differently about the public displays of affection. As soon as the front door clicked shut again, the girls started giggling and talking about things that only girls ever did.

"Oh Wills, it's so great to have you back" Buffy enthused as the three lie across the floor on cushions pulled from the sofa, a half eaten box of chocolates between them on the carpet "but I'll bet you wish you were still away, right?"

"Some" Willow admitted "it was so awesome Buff. We laid on the beach and we played in the ocean, there was music in the evenings and we danced and sat under the moonlight...it was all big with the fun days and romantic nights" she smiled wistfully at the past two and a half weeks worth of memories that she wouldn't part with for the world.

"Romantic nights?" Buffy smiled a certain way "You two didn't...?"

"Oh my God, you really did!" Cordelia interrupted with a squeal as Willow's face started to match her hair in colour.

"Kind of...yeah" she muttered under her breath, putting the nearest chocolate into her mouth so she had something else to do, other than look at or talk to her two friends.

"Wow, thats like a major deal..." Buffy gasped "and was it...?" another question was left hanging since both the other girls knew precisely what she meant.

"It was perfect" she sighed, a little less embarrassed as she remembered just how wondrous it all had been "the most wonderful thing in the whole world"

"You are so lucky" Cordelia told her, picking the pieces of hazelnut out of the sweet in her hand "My first time was a total disaster"

"Cordy, I never knew that you'd done...that thing" Willow gaped and Buffy looked kind of sad. She knew all about it.

"Yeah, well, Buffy is the only one that knows" Cordelia admitted, concentrating on the chocolate in her hand and not on the other people in the room "It's not something I'm proud of"

"Who was it?" the red-head asked, almost afraid of what Cordy's reaction would be. She could be volatile, it was unclear right now whether she would burst into tears, get very angry, both or neither.

"This guy I met in LA, Parker" the brunette shrugged after a while "I thought he really liked me and I liked him and, well, everyone else seemed to be doing it so..." she laughed humourlessly at how stupid she had been "it was big with the ick factor" she explained with a shake of her head, giving up on the hazelnut cluster and throwing it in the bin "not about love, just another notch on the headboard for him"

"I'm sorry" Willow said sincerely, reaching over to out her hand on Cordelias.

"It's okay" she smiled "not your fault...Anyway, happy now with Doyle" she smiled more brightly at the thought of her boyfriend "not that we've..." she quickly added "but, well, y'know...What about you Buff?" you said, turning sharply toward her best friend, anything to get the subject off of herself. Usually Cordelia loved to be all center-of-attention-ish, but not when this was the topic. The one time she'd liked a boy enough to go that far and he'd treated her so badly.

"What about me?" Buffy asked, nervously as her two friends looked at her.

"Well, I guess with Angel's curse and all" Willow mused "Spike must've been your first"

"Yeah...right...sure" Buffy mumbled, looking everywhere but at her friends.

"And...?" Cordelia prompted, wondering why her friend was suddenly so quiet. The Slayer was just wishing the floor would open up and swallow her, not that she had anything to be ashamed of or feel bad about, but she was kind of embarrassed to be the only one who'd never...

"And...y'know I think we need popcorn" she said with a shake of her head, diving up from the floor and practically running to the kitchen.

"Buffy..." her friends called after her, a little bemused. Willow made to follow but Cordelia stopped her with a hand on her arm

"Maybe she and he haven't, y'know, sealed the deal yet" she guessed.

"Oh, I never thought about it" the red-head gasped as she sat back down with a thump "I just assumed...oops" she shrugged, wondering what she was going to say to Buffy when she finally returned from the kitchen. She didn't have to worry for long as a knock on the door was heard.

Cordelia moved to answer it and Willow followed her. On the other side was a young man, of about twenty five, not bad to look as both girl noticed, with several bags at his feet and a nervous look on his face.

"Hello" Cordelia greeted, hoping the man planned to introduce himself.

"Oh, hello" he smiled slightly as he answered her in a smooth English accent "I'm looking for a Rupert Giles? I thought he lived here" he frowned slightly on realising it was unlikely he did live there, given two young girls had answered the door.

"Oh no, you want next door" Willow informed him, pointing out of the door to the next house "but he's out right now. You want us to tell him you stopped by?"

"I was hoping to see him actually" the Englishman said, looking over at the house Willow had been pointing too.

"Whats up?" Buffy's voice broke through as she joined her friends by the door and spotted the man on the other side "Hi" she said to him, warily.

"Buffy, this guy was looking for Giles..." Willow explained "I guess, you've come a long way, right?" she said as she turned back. English accented guys were not huge in number around Sunnydale, except for Giles and Spike.

"Yes, from England actually" the young man nodded.

"So, you must be one of the many relatives right?" Buffy smiled, though, being the Slayer and knowing what she knew, she was a little uneasy about strangers on her doorstep, she was only glad it was daylight.

"Er, well, yes" the mystery man agreed, slightly confused as to why he was one of 'many' relatives. With a shake of his head he dismissed the girls words and finally introduced himself properly "my name is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce" he said "but...I'm Rupert Giles' son"

To Be Continued...


	15. Strange Estrangement

****

A/N: Wow, so many reviews! I am so happy now! I have had the most crappy week ever at work this week so thank God it's the weekend and I can relax, watch some BtVS & AtS and write some fic! Thanx to all you wonderful reading and reviewing type people; Aleesha, Spikes Angel, SweetBitter, Wicked Wiccan1, theoneandonlygurl, Mita427, BtVS-and-PoTC-Fan, SouthernRain, Rachel, RougeCrayon, courtney. I made evryone think 'OMG!' didn't I? lol. That was fun. Here's more...please review!

Chapter 15 - Strange Estrangement

"Be kind, rewind" Buffy said with a frown to the young man on the doorstep before her.

"My name is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce" he repeated slowly as if she were mentally challenged, "And I am Rupert Giles' son"

"Oh my God..." was all Buffy could find to say next and it was eventually Willow who invited Wesley to come inside, dragging with him his luggage.

"Please, sit down" the blonde managed to say, "We won't be a second, I just need to talk to my friends" she told him quickly, grabbing an arm of both Willow and Cordelia and dragging them to the kitchen.

"Wow" was the brunettes first word when they were out of earshot of the latest arrival, "Giles has another son?"

"It can't be true, can it?" Willow shook her head, "I mean, he would have told us, especially after Spike and all"

"But he didn't know about Spike" Buffy recalled, "and if he didn't know about him, maybe he doesn't know about this Wesley guy either"

"Who do you think his mother is?" Cordelia frowned, "I mean, he's not Jessica's son, her surname is Hart, plus she would have mentioned it"

"And he looks older than Spike" Buffy pointed out "it has to be someone Giles was with before Jessica"

"But weren't they together in High School?" Willow threw in.

"He cheated on her?" Cordelia guessed, "That bastard!"

"Cordelia that's not fair" Buffy snapped, "I'm pretty sure Giles didn't date Jessica until later, but I'm not certain....Still, we don't know what really happened, we don't even know if this guy is telling the truth"

"Why would he lie?" Willow wondered allowed and Buffy admitted she didn't know, "I mean it's not like it's worth his while money-wise, Giles isn't super-rich or anything"

"I honestly don't know what to think" Buffy sighed, her head in her hands as she leant her elbows on the counter top. There was a moments silence before Cordelia piped up with something highly unhelpful.

"You do realise this is all your fault, right? she said to Buffy, hands on her hips.

"How is it my fault?" the blonde exploded, as Willow opened her mouth the calm the situation - she wasn't given a chance to speak.

"What did you say right before this guy arrived?" Cordy challenged "'What else could possibly go wrong?'" came the dreaded quote, "That's what you said, and now it's just a couple of days before Giles and Jessica's wedding and it's all gonna get blown to hell"

"Er, excuse me" came an English voice from the doorway, interrupting whatever Buffy was about to yell back at Cordy, "I don't wish to be rude" Wesley said as he entered the kitchen, "but there seems to be rather a lot of yelling going on and I'd hate to think I was the cause"

"Sorry about the yelling" Willow smiled, as she tried not to blush, "It's really not your fault it's just, well, it's kind of a surprise finding out Giles has another son" she told him as they all walked back to the living room. 

Wesley resumed his place on the sofa with Willow at the other end while Buffy and Cordelia took an armchair each.

"Another son?" Wesley echoed, "He has other children?"

"Just one" Buffy told him and shot Cordy a look when the brunette added; 

"That we know of"

"Again, I don't wish to be rude" the polite Englishman began again "but might I ask how you know my father and who you all are?"

Buffy hit herself in the forehead with her hand, she was such an idiot. She had been so shocked by the revelation that this guy was Giles's son that it hadn't even occurred to her to introduce herself.

"My name is Buffy Summers" she said, figuring it was a good place to start, she then told Wesley her friends names and that they all knew Giles because he was the school librarian. They gave a vague summary of how Jessica and Spike had come into their lives as well as Giles, and managed to quite successfully leave out of the conversation, all mentions of demons and the like, just in case.

"It seems then that surprise sons are my fathers speciality of late" Wesley smiled, though his heart wasn't really in it. He was almost disappointed that Giles' had found another son. It meant of course, that he may not be so thrilled to know him.

"So, what's your story?" Cordelia was eager to know. Gossip was her life and she thrived on rumours, but real life stories were just as fascinating, or they could be if you asked the right person. What could possibly be boring about a young Englishman searching for his estranged father in a foreign country?

"It's not so much a story as there's not a great deal to tell" Wesley told her, "I was raised by my parents, or whom I believed to be my parents, in Oxford. I attended school there, grew up believing I was the son of Julia and Robert Wyndham-Pryce, it was only when mother died suddenly, I was told the truth" he told them, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes - he looked tired, Willow noticed with a frown, and maybe a little upset.

"You don't have to tell us" she told him softly, "It's really none of our business and..."

"No, it's quite alright" he smiled at her, touched by her concern, before continuing his narrative, "The man I had called father all these years told me that he was in fact an impostor. The truth was he'd been in love with my mother since they were very young but she wasn't as sure in her feelings for him. When she was fifteen she met a boy she knew only as Giles. She apparently believed herself to be in love almost at first sight, and she gave him..._everything_, within a month of their first meeting"

"She gave him everything?" Buffy frowned not understanding. Cordelia rolled her eyes and leant over to whisper in her friends ear.

"Oh, everything" the Slayer's eyes went wide with realisation. Was she really the only one who hadn't done...that thing? It seemed she didn't even know as much about the subject as she thought.

In a moment, Wesley took a deep breath and continued his story.

"It was another month later that mother realised I was on the way, by which time Giles seemed to have completely evaporated. It was really not done, especially in my mothers family, to have children out of wedlock. She was too afraid to tell her parents of the state she had got herself into and so confided only in Robert. He proclaimed to love her still and promised to marry her and raise her child as his own. The day he told me the truth, I knew I had to find my father. It took a lot of research, but I knew I had to meet my biological father, despite the fact he disappeared...I just need to know why I suppose..."

All three girls were completely shocked to hear this story that presumably meant Giles had got a girl pregnant and then disappeared. It couldn't be true...could it? And where did Jessica fit in to all of this? 

A knock on the front door meant no-one got a chance to comment or voice there opinions and the room stayed silent as Buffy got to her feet and answered the door.

"Jessica" she greeted the blonde on the other side, "I, er..." she wasn't sure what to say to the woman who Giles may have cheated on so many years ago!

"Buffy, I needed a quick word with you about the bridesmaids dresses" the woman explained as she came into the house and through to the living room, Buffy closing the door and following, "Oh, hi there" she smiled as she saw a man she didn't recognise on the sofa.

"Jessica Hart, this is Wesley....erm, sorry, what was your surname again?" Buffy was forced to admit she didn't remember, all she could think about was the fact she was introducing Giles future wife to a man that was apparently his son.

"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce" the young man smiled, standing a shaking hands with Jessica, "I believe you know my father quite well" he continued and the three girls in the room winced as they knew what was coming.

"That all depends" Jessica smiled, "Who's your father?"

"Rupert Giles" came the answer, at which Jessica laughed somewhat hysterically, looking around the room at the girls for some kind of sign this was a bad joke or a hidden camera show. They all nodded that Wesley spoke the truth, and the future Mrs Giles promptly passed out.

"How?" was Jessica's first question as she came to, staring up from the floor at a concerned Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and Wesley, "How?" she repeated as she was helped to her feet and placed in a chair, the four younger people standing around her still.

"It's a long story" Cordelia told her, "Gist of it is Giles had a thing for a girl back when he was like sixteen or something, they kinda did it one time and then he disappeared and this girl had a baby and called it Wesley...oh and she married this other guy who liked her and he adopted Wes, who is this guy" she explained matter-of-factly, pointing to the man in question at the end of her explanation.

"Oh God" Jessica gasped, as the words sunk in. She'd not started dating Rpert until she was eighteen and he was almost twenty, but before that he'd left another woman to bring up a child alone, and he'd kept it all a secret from her. How could she marry a man like that?

"I have to go" she told her captive audience, levering herself out of the chair and making for the door.

"Jessica" Buffy called behind her, "Please, let Giles explain when he gets home" she begged, hating the idea that her father-figures marriage plans may be ruined over something that could be a misunderstanding - though she had to admit the evidence against him was pretty convincing.

"I need time" Jessica told her, turning back just briefly, "I don't know..." she trailed off as she disappeared beyond the front door, closing it behind her.

"Should someone go after her?" Willow suggested.

"No" was Buffy's immediate answer, "She said she needed some time" 

"Personally if I were her I'd rather have an explanation" Cordelia huffed and her best friend looked daggers at her.

"Your version of events hardly helped matters, Cordy" she snapped a little, "That was hardly a great way for her to find out her future husband and the man she loves, might have lied to her"

"I beg your pardon but there is no 'might' about it" Wesley interrupted, "He is my father, whether you like it or not"

"Hey" Willow half-yelled before anyone could say anything else that might develop into an argument, "Let's all just calm down, okay? And when Giles and the guys get back we'll work it all out" she said slowly, watching as the three more argumentative people in the room nodded their heads.

Now all they could do was wait...

__

To Be Continued...

****

[Next update will be on Oh Brother! - Chapter 15 coming soon]


	16. Blast From The Past

****

A/N : If all goes to plan they'll be just two or three more chapters of this fic! Yep, it's almost over, but there's still more to come for now so don't despair! Thanx to those who reviewed chapter 15; Sweetbitter, Rachel, courtney, SouthernRain,SpIkEs AnGeL, theonendonlygurl, supergirl212 - glad you guys are still liking this. Keep on reading and reviewing please...

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 16 - Blast From The Past

Whilst Cordelia and Buffy attempted to make polite conversation with the possible other son of Giles, Willow kept one eye glued to the window. As soon as she saw the car pull onto the drive next door, containing Giles, Spike and Doyle, she was on her feet and looking worried.

"They're back" she told the room and Buffy ran at the door, wanting to catch them before they went inside and sort this all out as soon as possible, not only for Wesley's sake or for her own piece of mind, but also for the sake of Giles and Jessica's wedding that was looking a little doubtful right now.

"Giles" the blonde called from the front porch, earning a strange look from the man himself, his son, and his nephew as they exited the car "could you come to our house for a minute...actually you two better come too" she realised, knowing Spike at least would not want to be left out of a family matter and probably his cousin wouldn't either.

"Whats up, pet?" Buffy's boyfriend asked rushing to her side with the other two men close behind.

"Long story" she frowned as she led them inside "and its really not mine to tell..." she trailed off as she went into the house with the three men.

"Oh, hello" Giles smiled a little bemusedly as he found Cordelia, Willow and a man in the living room.

"Giles, hey" Willow smiled and immediately Wesley was on his feet, right in front of the man he believed to be his father.

"Rupert Giles?" he checked, stepping so far forward that the older man found he needed to step back just to breathe properly.

"Yes. Can I help you?" he asked, completely baffled by this young man and his strange behaviour. He seemed almost enthralled by the sight of him and in was all very unnerving.

"My name is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce" he introduced himself "I'm your son" he added proudly and Giles' face went ashen with shock.

"Bloody hell!" came Spike's opinion, loud and clear, Buffy grabbed his leather clad arm as her boyfriend stepped towards Wesley in a somewhat threatening way.

"You're his what?" Doyle frowned deeply at hearing the news, looking to Cordelia for some kind of explanation. His girlfriend only shrugged, for once in her life keeping her mouth shut.

Giles had still yet to speak and all eyes were on him and the man in front of him.

"I know it's a great shock but..." the younger man began to say but he was cut off by the man he believed to be his father.

"It's impossible" he said simply and surprisingly calmly.

"Too right it's bloody impossible!" Spike yelled as Willow blushed at the sound of her cellphone ringing in the relative silence.

"Oh, excuse me" she mumbled, hurrying into the kitchen to take her call. It was Xander asking if she was still at Buffy's and if he was going to see her tonight.

"Xand, you won't believe what is going on here" she whispered into the phone, "but meet me in the Espresso Pump in ten minutes and I'll explain" she left her boyfriend slightly confused as she hung up the phone and crept out the back door, deciding it was best not to go interrupting the strange family reunion type event in the living room. She left a note on the fridge saying where she had gone, just in case anyone worried though she doubted anyone would even notice her absence given the circumstances.

"Maybe we should go?" Cordelia suggested to Doyle as she glanced around the room. Giles and Wesley standing toe to toe unsure who should speak next or what they should say. Spike looking daggers at his possible brother, Buffy clinging to his arm with all her Slayer strength to stop him from doing something stupid, and Doyle just looking completely bemused.

"I dunno, Princess" the Irishman replied, glancing at her briefly "You want me to go Uncle Giles?"

"I don't see why everyone should leave" Wesley answered instead "We are related after all...my mother's name was Julia Stevenson, she lived in Oxford. She fell pregnant with your child, with me" he told Giles matter-if-factly "but you disappeared and she married her friend Robert Wyndham-Pryce, the man I believed to be my father until not-so-long ago"

The thoughts running through the librarian's head were many and varied but one thing he knew for sure was he was not this man's father. He had never known a woman by the name of Julia Stevenson, which begged the question, how did this young man's mother ever come to the conclusion that he'd fathered her son?

"How old are you?" he asked Wesley, eyeing him suspiciously, a possible explanation forming inside his brain that was not entirely pleasant but definitely possible. This young man had said he was from Oxford after all...

"Twenty four" Wesley smiled like a proud child, momentarily forgetting that he'd just been told this man could not possible be his father. He was about to be reminded...

"Wesley, I'm terribly sorry but, I truly am not your father..." Giles sighed, sinking into the armchair behind him. The rest of the room wondered why he looked so worried and possibly sick.

"But Robert wouldn't lie to me" he young man protested as the others looked on, hoping some explanation would soon come to light "and I know my mother wouldn't lie to him, why ever would she?"

"I'm sure neither of them lied" Giles assured the somewhat deflated Wesley who dropped back into his seat on the sofa "but I know someone who probably did..."

"You want to explain that riddle, Dad?" Spike asked, an edge to his voice that said he really wasn't too happy with what he was hearing right now.

"Perhaps you should all sit down" the oldest man in the room urged the others and Spike muttered to himself as he shared the other chair with Buffy;

"Oh great, cos things are always 'hugs and puppies' when you start an explanation with that line"

"Spike, please" his father snapped "You're not helping"

"I'll be helpful" the bleach blond spoke through gritted teeth "when I hear the story of how I magically got an older brother!"

"Well if you give me two moments" Giles sighed yet again "I will explain...There was a time, when I was young, before I even met your mother Spike, I was attending the Watcher's Academy and I fell in with a somewhat unsavoury crowd, the head of which turned out to be one of the nastiest thugs I had ever had the misfortune to meet" the Watcher explained to the room full of young people, each one hanging on his every word "There was an occasion when the group had got into a fight with another gang, the long and the short of it being that a young man ended up dead" he said with a frown, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes, the memories he'd tried so hard to repress all flooding back so hard and fast it gave him a headache "I knew only too well at whose hands that man's life had been taken"

"So, what?" Spike shrugged "You grassed up the murderous git?" trying to put all this together and make some sense of it.

"I had to" Giles nodded slightly, replacing his glasses and staring at a spot on the carpet "A man's life had been lost and I knew who was to blame. I'd been in on the gangs petty thefts and ridiculous scams" he admitted, somewhat uncomfortably in front of his son and other young people that should respect him "but I would feel unimaginable guilt if I let a bringer of death go unpunished"

"I'm not understanding what this has to do with your man here" Doyle piped up, gesturing a hand towards Wesley "and the possibility that you're his father"

"I was just coming to that part" Giles told him, taking another deep breath "This louse of a man went on the run as soon as he knew I'd reported his crime. It wasn't just that he'd get thrown out of the school that was his problem of course, there was the police to consider" he told all the people in the room, who were eager to know what had happened next and how all this connected Giles to Wesley "He took it into his head to blame me for ruining his life, when truly he'd done it for himself. After he'd gone I waited for the beating I was sure his friends would inflict upon me but it never came" he sighed "In my heart of hearts I knew I couldn't be that lucky, that he'd have some other vengeance planned and I was right..." Giles' sentence tailed off as he knew he was going to have to tell Wesley the horrible truth that he had just realised for himself.

"Go on, Dad" Spike prompted, literally on the edge of his seat.

"The police caught him in Oxford" Giles said quietly, still looking at the floor "the year was 1980"

"The year I was born..." Wesley all but whispered, now he understood.

"Oh my God!" Buffy gasped, realsing the truth, that Wesley was actually the son of this awful man, this murderer!

"Bloody hell!" came Spike's equally shocked repsonse "Are you saying this bastard's punishment on you was be a total wanker and knock up some girl using your name?" he asked his father in disbelief.

"It does rather seem that way, doesn't it?" the older man frowned, hating the fact he had to bring up such an awful topic and that he'd just had to tell this young man before him that his male parent was far from a pleasant man.

"You're truly not my..." Wesley stammered, immediately on his feet, "my father was...he was a monster" he realised, looking like he might cry or something. Everyone looked the other way, surprised and astounded by the revelations they'd just heard, and feeling so bad for this poor young man but not knowing what to say to him.

"No Wesley, he wasn't" Giles assured him, also getting to his feet, everyone watching the two, each wondering if it would have been better for them to be related or not, "Yes, Ethan Rayne was a monster, but your father was the man who's name you carry" he explained "the man that brought you up, cared about you, and loved you. Biology makes you genetically connected to someone but a father is the one who is there for you and who tries to do his best by you" he didn't notice Buffy and Spike standing behind him until he turned around and they both smiled. He may not have been there all of Spike's life, but Giles was making up for it now, and he'd certainly been a better Dad to Buffy than her real parent ever had.

There was silence for a moment before the Watcher noticed the time and turned to Spike and Doyle.

"Jessica will be wondering where we all are" he told them both as he headed for the door and Wesley dropped back into his seat still trying to process the information he'd just received.

"No, she won't" Buffy called behind the three men who turned back suddenly.

"Whatever do you mean Buffy?" Giles asked as the girl looked uncomfortable. She sighed and said;

"You might wanna sit down again..."

__

To Be Continued...

****

[Next Update will be on Oh Brother! Look out for Chapter 16 of that v. soon]


	17. Stronger Than That

****

A/N : I'm guessing some people got bored when this got less focused on the Spuffy. Oh well, for those that are still reading, there will be Spuffy goodness to end this fic and the end is very close. Just one more chapter and an epilogue after this chapter here. Thank to supergirl212, courtney, SpIkEs AnGeL, Rachel, SweetBitter, AraelMoonChild for the reviews. Here's a long-ish chapter for you...to quote SpIkEs AnGeL - will they ever make it to the wedding?

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 17 - Stronger Than That

It had been early afternoon when Wesley had showed up on the doorstep of 1630 Revello Drive, several hours later he sat, watching and listening, as Buffy explained to a man Wes had thought might be his father, and the man's real son, where their fiancé and mother respectively had gone and why.

"So Mum thinks Dad's some kind of bastard and she's flitted off somewhere in a state?" Spike summed up afterwards, looking thoroughly frustrated.

"Pretty much" Buffy shrugged her shoulders, looking a little guilty "I'm sorry Giles, truly I am" she said as he stood up and paced in a similar fashion to his son.

"William, will you please refrain from such language, you're not helping" he snapped as the bleach blond continued to curse under his breath "It's not your fault, Buffy" he continued, turning to the Slayer "not really"

"No, I do believe it's my fault" said Wesley sadly, looking down at his feet and feeling highly embarrassed.

"No, no, it's no-ones fault" Giles assured him "just an unfortunate mis-understanding" he suddenly had a thought and turned to his actual son "erm, she has a telephone, Spike do you know the number, I confess I hardly ever call it"

"Er, yeah, just a sec" Spike patted his pockets trying to locate his cellphone. Pulling it out he speed-dialled his mothers number and handed the phone to Giles.

"Jessica?" he said as he heard her voice on the other end of the line "It's Rupert, please I need to...hello? hello?" there was a click and beep and a distinct lack of reply causing Giles to look strangely at the phone in his hand, shaking it about as if that might help. Rolling his eyes, Spike took the phone from his father.

"She's cut you off" he announced, before dialling again and exclaiming "and now she's turned the bleedin' phone off completely!"

"It's getting dark outside" Giles muttered "Whatever possessed her to run out like that?"

"I think she was kinda upset over finding out you might have another son" Cordelia threw in, unhelpful as ever with her obvious comments.

"But I haven't got another son!" Giles shouted, uncharacteristically angry "How could she think I would do that to someone, leave them pregnant and alone without so much as a goodbye"

"Well, er..." Spike looked at his father, not really sure whether he should point out the situation that had occurred around his birth.

"Oh, that was different" Giles frowned, the main focus of his mind being Jessica, where she might be and what awful things might be happening to her.

"Look, whatever happened or didn't happen, we need to find her" Doyle pointed out, not liking the fact that his uncle was getting so upset, or that his future aunt might be in some kind of danger.

"He's right" Spike nodded, looking to Buffy "I mean I know Mum's a little more aware than some about things that do more than just bump in the night, but I don't like the thought of her out there alone"

Buffy was about to answer when Wesley jumped in with both feet, shocking the whole room.

"Indeed, with vampires and demons on the loose as they are in this town, I suppose it is rather fortunate that you're the Slayer" he commented, making Buffy's mouth drop open.

"Was there like a national announcement or something?"  
"Oh no, of course not" the Englishman assured her "I simply stumbled across the information whilst researching my fath...Mr Giles" he corrected himself, catching the older man's attention and making him feel a little bad for the man who'd turned out to be the son of such a hateful person as Ethan Rayne.

"I am sorry that things didn't work out how you planned them Wesley" he told him, the younger man just shook his head.

"It's quite alright, I shall survive" he said, extending a hand to him "It's been a pleasure to meet you Mr Giles, all of you in fact, and I hope everything works out between you and your future wife"

Giles smiled as he shook his hand, but his frown soon returned to his face.

"Thankyou, but I'm starting to wonder if I shall have a wedding at all"

"Don't stress Giles, we'll find her" Cordelia said with more confidence than she really felt. Having grown up on the hellmouth, and as best friend to the Slayer, she was only too aware of the dangers of Sunnydale, especially in the dark of night.

"Yes, we will find her" Buffy promised, taking charge "Doyle, Cordelia, get Wesley to a hotel in town, I don't want anything hell-mouthy getting him on the way there" the pair nodded as they helped their latest acquaintance to pick up his bags and headed for the door "Giles you go back to your place in case she calls or comes home" she told her Watcher, who followed the others out of the door "I'll make a sweep of the town" Buffy completed, pulling on her jacket and reaching for her stake. As she turned she found Spike standing right behind her, jacket on and ready to leave "Spike, I think you should stay with your Dad" she told him, but he shook his head.

"No bloody way, I am coming with you to look for her" off her unconvinced look, he explained "I can't sit around and wait Buffy, Dad can handle that but it'll drive me crazy"

"Okay" the Slayer sighed, holding her stake in one hand and taking her boyfriends hand with the other "just stay focused"

They walked in silence, eyes and ears open at all times, not just for signs of Jessica but also for demon activity. As they passed the first of Sunnydale's cemeteries two vampires emerged. They were only young and didn't last long against the Slayer and her well trained boyfriend. As the dust cleared around them, Spike sighed.

"God today's getting bleedin' worse" he complained "First I get trussed up in some nancy boy suit, then I've magically got a brother, next thing you know I haven't but I've got a devastated father and a missing mother instead" he stormed passed Buffy and headed through the cemetery gates, his girlfriend hurrying after him and grabbing his arm.

"Don't worry, Spike" she tried to calm him down "We will find her and it'll all work out, I swear"

"How can you be so sure?" he stopped walking as he seemed finally willing to pay attention and calm down a bit.

"Cos your parents love each other" she assured him "and nothing is stronger than that"

Of course he knew it wasn't just his parents love she was talking about, she meant them too. They were stronger together than apart, that's the way real love was.

"You're right, pet" he nodded, leaning down to kiss her but their lips never quite met as a scream pierced the silence of the graveyard. They both had a good idea about who had made that sound and in a flash they were running amongst the tombstones and mausoleums, feet pounding on the grass.

Buffy, being the Slayer, had a speed advantage and reached Jessica and the vampire before Spike did. It was just a fledging and it wasn't even out of it's grave yet, but the shock of it appearing from the ground, teeth bared and hungry had obviously given Jessica an understandable fright. She was cowering behind a tombstone as the vamp seemed to be having trouble getting itself out of the dirt. Buffy staked it just as Spike arrived and he immediately ran to his mother and helped her up.

"Seeing that..." she said, swallowing hard "never gets any less weird, or scary"

"You okay Mum?" Spike checked and she nodded as he sat her down on the headstone.

"It didn't touch me" she assured him as Buffy walked over, coughing up a lungful of demon dust.

"I didn't just mean the vamp" the bleach blond pointed out and Jessica looked away. She knew that, but she wasn't sure what to say about her situation with his father.

"Jessica, I know it's really none of my business" said Buffy, clearly going to voice an opinion anyway, despite the fact she was just saying that she had no right "but please come back with us and talk to Giles"

"Buffy, sweetheart" the older woman smiled "I know you want to help but, it's not as simple as that" she said sadly, studying the grass. She didn't want the kids to see her crying over this.

"Mum, please" Spike begged, kneeling on the floor in front of her, trying to see her face "You know what I'm like, you know I don't do the forgiving and forgetting thing easily and you also know that I only want good things for you" she nodded that it was true and he continued "You mean the world to me, and that's why you have to believe me when I tell you that Dad loves you and he is one of those good things that I want for you"

Buffy suddenly felt very spare-part-ish, as there was a real mother-son moment going on, but she was glad she was there to see it. Spike was so sweet sometimes and if anyone could fix what had happened between Giles and Jessica it would be him, she was sure.

"Maybe he was once" she heard his mother sigh "but now..."

"Nothing's changed" Spike interrupted, as he was prone to do "That silly git you met is not my brother" he promised her "He's just a bloke who got his wires crossed. Some louse back in the day knocked up some girl from Oxford and blamed it on my old man"

Jessica smiled at her son, partly relieved to hear that Giles was innocent of his crime so to speak, and also because she wondered, how could her son be so sweet one moment and butchering the English language so horribly the next. She didn't have the strength to comment on that now, it didn't matter.

"Everything's different now" she thought aloud, despite the fact she hadn't gained a step-son today, what had happened made her realise something "we were apart so long" she explained "we had to start over and this just showed me how little I really know about him now"

Spike looked pleadingly at Buffy for help, knowing he was fighting a losing battle in trying to get his mother to see sense. All he wanted was for his parents to be happy together, and he couldn't see a reason why they shouldn't be.

The Slayer went at this problem the only way she knew how - jump in with both feet, consequences be damned.

"Jessica" she got the other woman's attention "when I first met Spike, my God he drove me crazy" he admitted, making the bleach blond frown.

"Thanks a lot, luv" he said grumpily, making Buffy smile.

"But the point is" she continued, glancing between the young man and his mother "a lot of the crazy-drivey-ness was because I knew I was in love with him. I barely knew him as a person but I saw something in him and I was lucky cos he saw something in me too" she explained "We were in love from practically the first time we met, and look how happy we are now"

Jessica smiled genuinely at the two young people before her, they were so right for each other, she had no doubt about that at all.

"I know honey" she nodded "and I'm so happy for both of you" she assured them, though neither she nor Spike were seeing what this had to do with the upcoming wedding.

"Well, we were happy knowing you and Giles were getting married" Buffy continued "Now it looks uncertain, and it shouldn't because deep down I know you love him too much to just walk away" she looked from Jessica to Spike as she added "just like I know I could never walk away from Spike. We'll be in love forever"

"Too right, pet" her boyfriend smiled, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a squeeze. Now he saw the point to what she was saying. It wasn't about knowing everything about a person, it was about loving someone no matter what, and nothing was stronger than that.

They were both surprised to hear light laughter coming from Jessica and they turned to see her wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"I've been stupid, haven't I?" she realised "Running away like a kid, not waiting for an explanation, and here you two are..." she mused "I'm having serious doubts about which one of us is the teenager" she told Spike with a fake-worried expression.

"You're not stupid Mum" he smiled "just upset, but it's not too late y'know"

Standing up and straightening herself out, Jessica smiled too.

"Take me home kids" she said "I need to see Rupert"

"So the wedding is still on?" Buffy said excitedly, hoping this meant it was all fixed like she and Spike so desperately wanted it to be.

"If he still wants me" Jessica promised, looking decidedly worried that he might not after her distrust of him.

"I know that he does" Buffy grinned, reaching to hug her boyfriend's mother. She'd got to know Jessica pretty well since her and Giles had got back together. She couldn't have wished for a nicer person for her father-figure, she realised, as the three walked back to Revello Drive.

****

"Spike?" Giles called, hurrying into the hallway as he heard the front door. He was so pleased to find Jessica there with his son and Buffy "Oh I was so worried" he smiled at the sight of them "Jessica, you have to let me explain" he rambled "that boy..."

"Is not your son" his fiancée interrupted "I know, and I should have waited for an explanation, it was ridiculous" she admitted "It's just, I love you so much, the thought that something might come between us..." she trailed off, feeling upset all over again just from thinking about the possibility.

"Nothing ever will, I promise" Giles assured her, taking her in his arms "I have no secrets from you. I love you" he assured her, the pair of them quite clearly forgetting about Spike and Buffy who could see what was going to happen next from a mile back! They edged out of the door again, just as the disturbing parental snogging occurred.

"Thanks for helping me find my, Mum" Spike said as they stood on the porch, though somewhat disgusted by the sight of his mother and father kissing like that, he was pleased they were back together like they should be.

"All part of my duty as a Slayer and a girlfriend" the blonde smiled, earning herself a kiss which she thoroughly enjoyed.

"What you said really helped y'know" Spike told her, his arms still holding onto her "Made me think too" he smiled mischievously "You really loved me from the first day we met?" Buffy giggled at that.

"Well, I didn't realise it at the time" she told him "but, yeah, I think I did" she smirked in a similar fashion to the way he always did when she added "there's no way you could have annoyed me so much if I didn't love you"

Spike rolled his eyes at that, but didn't argue, then suddenly Buffy had a thought.

"How about you?" she asked him.

"How about me, what?" he shook his head slightly, not understand her question.

"When did you realise you were in love with me?" she asked almost shyly, looking down. He lifted her chin with his fingers, looking straight into her eyes.

"First time I laid eyes on you luv" he said sincerely "never any doubt in my mind that you were the one for me"

The kiss they shared then went on for some time til neither of them could stand the lack of oxygen anymore. Buffy stepped away from him, knowing if she didn't go now she wouldn't want to go at all, and it was getting late.

"I should get home" she told him "Mum and Dawnie will be home soon and wondering where I am" he nodded as she descended the steps the turned back to speak again "besides we have a wedding to go to, in less than thirty six hours" she counted as she glanced at her watch "some of us need our beauty sleep...I'll let you get that" she giggled as she hurried to her own front door.

He was smiling when he called a threat over to her.

"You'll pay for that, Slayer" he promised, but she just laughed as she let herself into the house.

"I'll look forward to it"

__

To Be Continued...


	18. The Big Day

****

A/N : Well, here it is, the end of this story! This is the final chapter but there is a little epilogue too which I have also posted. I'm glad so many people have enjoyed this story and I hope you approve of the very Spuffy ending :-). Thanx to those who reviewed the previous chapter - SpIkEs AnGeL, SweetBitter, Courtney37, SouthernRain - and of course big thanks to everyone who has reviewed throughout this fic. You guys are all awesome! :-) I'd love to hear your opinions on the ending so please review when you've read these last parts... :-)

__

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 18 - The Big Day

The day of the wedding finally arrived, and practically everyone was nervous. Spike went with Giles to the church, proudly playing the part of best man, though he did complain a great deal about wearing a suit instead of his usual black and leather. Doyle was also there, of course, proud to have Cordelia on his arm. Xander and Willow looked a picture together, as did Joyce and Johnny, though they quite embarrassed the young people by being so close all the time. 

Jessica's mother was constantly sniffing into a handkerchief, so happy for her daughter. She had started to think her dear girl would never find the happiness of marriage and yet the day had come and it even seemed that Johnny may be finally settling to one woman!

The bride arrived in style with her father, and Buffy and Dawn as her bridesmaids. All eyes turned to watch as the three woman glided down the aisle and the sight of Buffy took Spike's breath away, she had to admit, seeing him dressed so differently had quite a similar effect on her.

Vows and rings were exchanged by the bride and groom, but Spike and Buffy had to admit they were only half paying attention to the ceremony. They simply couldn't keep their eyes off each other, as was the case with many of the other couples in the room. 

Giles was told he may now kiss the bride, and thoroughly embarrassed everyone including himself by making a big deal out of it. All the respective couples filtered out of the hall, arm in arm and smiling. It was a beautiful day that many wondered if they'd ever make it to, but here it was and no-one could be happier than this group of friends and family today.

After the ceremony, everyone headed back to Revello Drive for the reception at the Giles household. Even the kids were allowed to sample the champagne, although only a half glass each, and there was of course a beautiful cake that Joyce had iced as her present to the couple.

It was getting dark outside but everyone was so involved in conversations, eating and drinking and being merry, that they barely even noticed. Buffy only had one thing on her mind now, the same thing that'd been the centre of her attention all day, and that was Spike. 

He was talking to Doyle on the other side of the room when she walked over and said she needed him. He went willingly with her through to the kitchen and out of the back door to the back porch, where she began to kiss him. He kissed her back in equal measure though he was unsure why he'd been dragged out of the house for this, it's not like the rest of their family and friends hadn't seen them snogging before.

He began to realise the reason for their exit, when Buffy finally pulled away, leaving them both breathing heavily from lack of oxygen.

"They could all be talking in there for hours" she said, just above a whisper "...my house is empty"

"What are you saying, pet?" Spike asked her, holding her at arms length for a moment, thinking he knew precisely what she meant but checking before he got a slap for saying and/or doing the wrong thing.

"I'm saying, I love you" she told him honestly and he sighed, removing his hands from her arms but not getting any closer yet.

"And I love you too" he assured her.

"So..." Buffy drew out the word as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck "do you want to?"

"Do I want to...?" Spike stammered, eyes wide as ever "oh Slayer" he said slowly, backing off again "you really know how to mess with a bloke's head" he sighed, turning his back on her briefly, "and other things" he added under his breath as he tried to regain control of himself.

"I don't understand what the problem is" he heard Buffy say behind him "if you love me..."

"I do" he protested, turning back to face her "you know I do, I just said it" he assured her, hands on her arms again as he looked her straight in the eye and she knew it was the truth.

"But?" she asked, knowing there had to be a 'but' in this sentence somewhere, either that or a 'however' which was basically just a fancy 'but' anyway...

"Why the sudden rush to do this?" Spike asked her, head tilted to one side, the way it always was when he was trying to figure something out. He did love her and was sure she loved him, but they'd never even mentioned going that step further before and all of a sudden she was practically dragging him to her bed!

"Because...I don't know" she mumbled, shifting her eyes away from his intense gaze "I just...well, Willow and Xander, when they were on vacation, they..."

"Buffy" Spike interrupted with a sigh, taking a cigarette from his inside pocket "you don't do something like that just because everyone else is doing it" he told her as he lit his cigarette and blew out the smoke "If all your mates decided to jump off a bridge, would you do it too?"

"Of course not" Buffy said grumpily, turning away from him, before adding "and you do know you sounded like my mother just then, right?"

Spike just sighed and rolled his eyes as Buffy sat down on the porch step with a decidedly moody expression and he joined her there.

"Anyway, it's different for Willow and Xander" he told her, "They've known each other for-bloody-ever, they know everything about each other and they have this deep bond"

"And we don't?" Buffy asked wide eyed, she thought that she and Spike had this huge connection too. Did he not believe their relationship was as strong as their friends?

"We do" Spike sighed again, eyes begging her to understand what he was explaining so badly "but it's different" he tried to make her see "Every relationship is different, and I'm not going to ruin ours by rushing into something we might not be ready for"

It was the way he said it that made Buffy wonder if she'd been selfish. She had been unsure if she was ready to take this next step in their relationship but it was her standing there calling the shots right now. She hadn't considered, not for a moment, that maybe Spike was scared too, maybe he wasn't ready for this yet.

"You're not ready?" she asked him with a slight frown. Spike studied her face, not wanting to offend her or make her feel he didn't want her, because in all honesty there was nothing on this Earth he wanted more than her, but at the same time this was a hell of a big deal for both of them, though she didn't realise why it was for him.

"I don't know, luv" he told her gently "Are you? I mean, really positively ready?" he checked, something in her eyes told him she was not half so confident as she seemed at first glance.

"I don't know either" she admitted quietly, fiddling with the lace on her dress "I've never actually...y'know" she mumbled, eyes always down, trying to hide how embarrassed she was about it "...have you?" she asked, looking up only for a brief second.

"Honest answer?" Spike sighed, looking out across the yard instead of at Buffy "Once" he admitted, not daring to look at his girlfriend, wondering what her reaction would be to this, as he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stamped on it with his heel.

"Wow" he heard her say in a flat tone "With Drusilla?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, with Drusilla" he answered, still looking straight ahead "But it wasn't a big romantic thing...in fact I barely remember what happened" he looked over at her then and saw more or less what he'd expected - Buffy's 'yeah, right' look.

"I'm serious..." he assured her, before turning to face her properly and explaining what he'd never told anyone before "It was about six months before I moved over here. Our relationship wasn't going anywhere, I told you we were better off as friends than anything more, but she'd had another falling out with her Dad, and my Mum was out of town for the weekend, so she came over, bought two bottles of scotch she'd nicked from Daddy's drinks cabinet. Didn't take her long to get wasted and I wasn't far behind. I vaguely remember some sort of pillow fight, and then we were kissing and, well, that was it" he ended somewhat lamely with a shrug of his shoulders, and after a moments silence Buffy had one question she had to ask.

"Did you love her?"

"Not in the way I should have, pet" Spike replied honestly with a shake of his head "not like I love you" he told her, taking hold of her hand "and she didn't love me like that either. In the morning we agreed to forget it and go back to being just friends. In all honesty I didn't see much of her from that day to when I left, things couldn't be the same after all that had happened, which is a shame I s'pose but...that's just how it is sometimes"

Buffy stayed silent, watching his thumb as it moved up and down the back of her hand. She was starting to wish she'd never opened her mouth on this subject today.

"So, you and Angel never..." Spike said eventually.

"No" Buffy all but whispered in reply "And not just cos it might make him lose his soul either" she told him, "it was never really like that with us...I guess, without knowing it, I kind of saved myself for you" she smiled shyly, eyes flitting up to meet his just briefly before going back to the ground.

With a smile on his lips, Spike lifted her chin with his finger and placed a sweet kiss on her mouth.

"Wish I'd have done the same, luv" he told her sincerely "but I'm not going to sleep with you now just to erase an ugly memory" he explained "...or lack of ugly memory, if you see what I mean" he amended with a smile, "and I'm not gonna rush into this just because everyone else is doing it"

"Yeah, it's okay, I understand" Buffy nodded, maybe a little disappointed that the afternoon hadn't quite gone according to her plans, but also a large part relieved. Spike was right, as usual, they shouldn't make a step that big just because everyone else had.

"One day, Buffy" he said softly, seeing the slight sadness in her eyes "when it's right, then it'll be perfect, for both of us, I promise you that"

"I believe you" she nodded and smiled, realising she really did mean that, as their lips met and they kissed each other soundly. It was enough, for now, they both decided as they headed back inside, to the celebration that would go on for hours yet. 

This wedding had seemed like it might never arrive, but here was the day and it was one that many of those people present would never forget.

__

Not Quite The End...


	19. Perfect Day

Chapter 19/Epilogue - Perfect Day

The sun shone in through the crack between the curtains and Buffy screwed up her eyes against the painful brightness. Still, she was smiling. It was going to be a perfect day today, just like yesterday had been and just like tomorrow would be too. Okay, so she was still the Slayer, and the demons of Sunnydale still required staking and beheading most nights, but near-apocalypses had been few and mostly patrols had been uneventful.

It was just a few weeks since the wedding of Jessica and Giles, and they'd return from their honeymoon tomorrow, just in time for the librarian to go back to his job when school started up again on Monday. They'd sent postcards saying what a wonderful time they were having, but Buffy was just grateful they hadn't gone into details about it!

Doyle stayed around Sunnydale longer than intended, keeping Spike company, and seeing Cordelia regularly, until it was time for her to head home. They travelled to LA together, where the Irishman continued to see his girlfriend whilst helping Angel to fight the evil of Los Angeles.

With the absence of his cousin, parents, and grandparents, Spike felt like the house was suddenly very empty, so he'd spent a lot of time the last few days at Buffy's house. Of course she had no objections at all, and neither did Joyce or Dawn who loved to have the bleached blond around. By the same token, the Summers' women also enjoyed the company of the boy's Uncle Johnny. 

When his parents had gone home, Johnny realised he'd really fallen for Joyce and just couldn't leave her now he'd found her. He'd been the love them and leave them type of guy since High School, believing that he may never settle down, but now here was this woman, the mother of his favourite nephews girlfriend no less, and she was all he ever wanted.

Buffy couldn't be happier for her Mom. Johnny was great and a lot like an older version of Spike, though thankfully he wasn't too similar because that would just be too freaky for everyone.

Buffy sighed and stretched out her body, thinking perhaps she ought to get up, though there was one particular reason why she didn't want to.

"Hey pet" aforementioned reason said as he opened his eyes and noticed her looking at him, "You been awake long"

"A while" she told him, leaning over to kiss his lips, "I was just thinking how perfect everything is right now" she smiled as she turned and laid her back against his chest, snuggling back down under the covers and nestling into his arms.

"I told you it would be" he said softly, kissing the top of her head, "And it always will be"

Buffy only smiled, loving the feeling of knowing it was true, and also knowing that what ever trouble arose, they would get through it, so long as they were together.

~The End~

**__**

Please review and let me know what you think to the ending! :-)

And for anyone who's interested, I will updating my other two fics soon!


End file.
